Eighteen
by Thatmusicalauthor
Summary: 17 year old high school senior, Percy Jackson didn't think that he'd ever find the love of his life on an old bus. Or did he think that she'd be 5 years older than him with a job. Still, that doesn't stop him from loving her. So he does the first thing that comes to his mind. He lied about his age. Inspired by: 18 by 5 Seconds Of Summer
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. If you haven't read any of my other stories than you need to know one thing. I always put a random thing before I put the disclaimer. So for this story, I'll be doing random favorites of mine. This will let you get to know me a little better. Okay, Onwards!**

**Favorite Song: Angel With A Shotgun By The Cab**

**Disclaimer: I don't any PJO characters or any of the songs I use in this story. I wish did though. :(**

Chapter 1: I Love That Ratty Old Bus

Percy's POV:

Okay, so I know meeting in a ratty, old, blue bus isn't exactly the most romantic place to meet but that's the way we met. Like all stories, it started with a ring:

_RING! _

I jumped and knocked off all of my stuff off my desk at the sudden noise of the school bell. I was currently in my English class, my last class of the day, staring off into space. When I recovered from my jump scare, I saw my friends standing by their desks, silently laughing at me. I stood up, gathered my stuff, and headed straight out the door. "Hey slow down man!" One of my friends, Beckendorf, called after me. I stopped speed walking and sighed to a stop. I turned around and saw them jogging towards me. Before I continue, let me tell you about them.

First there's my best friend, Nico Di Angelo. He has black hair, black eyes, and LOVES the color black. We call him emo but he insists he isn't. Second, there's Leo Valdez. He's a very positive person, has brown hair, and has brown eyes. He loves to build things. Doesn't matter what it is, he'll build it. And last but not least, Beckendorf. His real name is Charles but no one calls him that besides his girlfriend, Silena. We call him Beck. He is African American, has brown eyes, and black hair. He is also Leo's half-brother. Don't ask it's complicated.

Back in reality, the guys reached me. "You were walk really, really fast." Leo said, bending over to catch his breath. "That was kind of the point, considering I embarrassed myself by jumping." I said. Beck chuckled. "You gotta admit, it was pretty funny." He said. I just changed the subject by saying, "So are we just going to stand here or are we going to take Becks truck back to my house and practice a song?"

In case you didn't know, the guys and I created a band on one day when we were bored. We practice songs in my garage. We actually weren't that bad. They looked at each other for a while before heading straight towards the exit of the school, yelling "RACE!" I finally reacted and sprinted after them, laughing the whole way.

[PAGE BREAK]

I opened the door and was immediately tackled by a black blob. "Mrs. O'Leary! Down girl!" I said laughing as she licked my face. She got off of me and ran away to an unknown place in the house. After I got the smell of dog breath out of my nose, I smelled a familiar scent. My mom was making her blue cookies. Apparently, the guys smelled it too because they ran to the kitchen the same time as me. We saw my mom there, barely taking them out of the oven. We waited impatiently as my mom put the cookies on the plate.

As soon as she put it down, I attacked it. The guys did the smart thing and waited for them to cool down while I learned the hard way. I held out my hand and spit out the contents of the scorching hot cookie and ran to the refrigerator to get an ice cube. My mom scolded me. "Percy, I've told you before! You have to wait for them to cool down before you eat them."

I took out the ice cube and said, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." They all laughed as I continued to cool off my tongue. After we finished, we headed to the garage with my brother, Tyson, in pursuit. He once said he wanted to learn all the skills we had so he could be like us some day. That earned him a group hug from all 4 of us. Since then, he always watches our practices. He sat on the couch we had in there and waited for us to start playing. Nico walked over to his bass guitar and put it on. Leo walked to his electric guitar and put it on just like Nico. Beck strided over to his drums and sat down. The middle drum, and the biggest, had our bands name on it: The Demigods

I just walked to my microphone and admired the work Tyson did to it. (Tyson loved to build stuff as well.) He spray painted it gold and put my initials on it in blue. Leo hooked up his guitar to the stereo and helped Nico and Beck connect theirs. When we finished setting up, I said, "Okay. I wrote a song the other day and I think it's pretty cool. Do you guys want to play it?" They all nodded and I handed out sheets of the song that I had Tyson copy for me. "It talks about an 18 year old in it and in case you guys were wondering, it's my mom I'm talking about." They nodded again and simultaneously said, "Let's get started."

**(Social Casualty By: 5 Seconds Of Summer)**

_(P)=Percy (A)=All_

_(A) La la la la la la da da_

_La la la la la la da da_

_(P) Just a kid, it's all the same_

_Growing up, it doesn't change_

_Who are they to try and put us down?_

_Had enough of what they say_

_Sick and tired of all their games,_

_Stand up and sing it with me now._

_(A) La la la la la la da da_

_La la la la la la da da_

_So save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) Don't wanna be a victim of authority_

_I'll always be a part of the minority_

_(A) Save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) So tell me, tell me, tell me what you want from me,_

_I don't wanna be another social casualty_

_(Social casualty)_

_(P) Just a girl turned 18_**(A/N: He's talking about his mom.)**

_She ran away to chase her dreams_

_And they said she wouldn't make it far._

_She took a chance and packed her bags_

_She left town and didn't look back_

_So tired of wishing on the stars_

_(A) (wishing on the stars)_

_La la la la la la da da_

_La la la la la la da da_

_So save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) Don't wanna be a victim of authority_

_I'll always be a part of the minority_

_(A) Save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) So tell me, tell me, tell me what you want from me,_

_I don't wanna be another social casualty_

_(A) La la la la la la da da_

_La la la la la la da da_

_So save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) Don't wanna be a victim of authority_

_I'll always be a part of the minority_

_(A) Save me from who I'm supposed to be_

_(P) So tell me, tell me, tell me what you want from me,_

_I don't wanna be another social casualty_

_(A) La la la la la la da da_

_(P) Social casualty_

_(A) La la la la la la da da_

When we all finished, Beck started whooping. "WOOOOOOOO! That was awesome!" We all chuckled at his antics. My mom brought us water and told us good job before she walked back inside the house. Tyson ran off somewhere so we all sat on the couch that he was siting at. By we, I meant me and Nico. Beck and Leo sat on the loveseat we also had in there. We just sat there in a comfortable silence before Leo blurted out, "Let's go do something." We looked at him. "Like what?" Nico asked. "I don't know but, guys, it's Friday! There must be like a gajillion parties going on right now." Leo said. Beck rested his head on his hand and said, "Leo, I'm pretty sure we have to be popular to get into a party."

Leo, being the positive man he is, stood up and told us, "Guys! We could just sneak in! Please! I don't want to have nothing to do on a Friday." Beck sighed and stood up. "He's right."

"We know." Nico and I muttered as we stood up. Beck grabbed his keys off the counter and off we went.

[PAGE BREAK]

The party was great. For the other guys. I was just there at the bar the whole time while the guys were making out with girls they'd just met except Beck, who has a girlfriend. He was just dancing. I wasn't going to allow myself to get drunk, so I just drank a coke. The guys on the other hand, got drunk as hell. When we were walking back to the car, they couldn't stop giggling. "And then she asked for my name." Nico giggled. He was currently talking about the girl he just met and he apparently found everything she said funny. The guys started giggling all together. I sighed. Why do they always have to get drunk when we go to a party?

We finally found the car behind an abandoned building. (Yes, the place was that crowded.) Unfortunately, Beck thought he was in a good enough state to drive us home. "Look I'll just call you guys a cab and I'll take the bus." I reasoned. "Why don't you come with us?" Nico slurred. "Because I don't have enough money for all 4 of us." I responded. "But what about my car?" Beck whined. I sighed. "We'll come pick it up in the morning. When you're sober."

"Why don't you just drive it back?" Leo asked. Wow, they're asking a lot of questions. "Because I don't have my driver's license." I said. I pulled out my phone and called the cab company.

When the cab arrived, I gave the driver their addresses while they stumbled into the car. The driver nodded in thanks when I gave him the money. I turned towards the back door to see Leo playing with the window button. They all giggled as it went up and down. I chuckled at the funny sight. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Beck, Leo and Nico waved at me. "Bye Percy!" They all said simultaneously. And with that the cab drove away. Giggles were heard until they disappeared from sight.

I walked to the closest bus stop and waited. After for what seemed like hours, the bus arrived. I entered the bus. For it being 2:00 in the morning, it was pretty packed. I paid the bus driver the little I had and he let me in. I found a seat in the back of the bus. The bus was old. You could see mold forming from under the seats and rust on the blue metal roof. It smelled of cigarettes, beer, and pee.

I sat there and tried to hold my breath, trying not to smell the horrible stench. We came to a stop and at least 10 people got off. Leaving me, two cat ladies, and a man in jogging shorts and a marathon t-shirt. He was either talking to himself or had on a Bluetooth because he kept saying "George" and "Martha" **(*wink*)**

The bus took off. I heard yelling in the distance. "Wait!" A woman's voice. I turned around and looked out the back window to see a woman running after the bus. "Wait!" She yelled again. I got up and yelled, "Hey stop the bus! There's someone who wants to get on!" I jogged over the back doors and waited for the bus to stop. He stopped and a green light lit up above the doors, indicating that he unlocked the back doors for her to get in. I pushed the doors open and waited for the woman. She caught up and I literally felt the world go in slow motion. She had blonde curls that shaped her face perfectly and was also in a neat bun. Her eyes were stormy gray. She was wearing an unbuttoned salmon blazer with a white shirt under it. She also had black skinny jeans to go along with the outfit. She was wearing heels. That must've been really uncomfortable to run in.

I shook out of my trance and held out a hand. "Need help?" I asked. She smiled at me breathlessly and took my hand. I felt electricity run through our hands. I decided not to comment on it. Sadly, she let go and went to go pay the bus driver. I went to go sit back down. She sat next to me and I couldn't have been happier in my life. She over took the horrible smell with her amazing scent of lemon.

She turned towards me as the bus took off once again. "So did you stop the bus for me?" She asked. I smiled at her. "Yeah." I said dreamily. "Thanks." She smiled. "You're welcome."

"So… my name is Annabeth Chase. What's yours?" She said holding out her hand. "Percy Jackson." I replied while shaking her hand. "What are doing here all alone at 2:10 the morning?" She asked looking at her small gold wrist watch. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I corrected. "Hey! I'm 22. I can be out late if I want. How old are you?" She said. My heart dropped. _22? _I'm only 17. Isn't it illegal to date a minor when you're over 21? But I really want to get to know this girl. So I did what any normal guy would do.

I lied.

"Um… I'm 22 as well." I said. She looked surprised. "Really? I would've guessed that you were younger."

"Well, I would've guessed that you were at least 17." I said truthfully. She blushed. "I don't look that young." I smiled at her. She looked cute when she blushed. She blushed even more. Oops, did I say that out loud? "Yeah, you did."

Now it was my turn to blush.

We talked for a while getting to know each other better. The more stuff she told me, the more I liked her. When her stop came, she looked disappointed. "This is my stop…" She stood up. Before she walked away, I gathered up all my courage and asked her, "Can I have your phone number?"

She smiled. "Yeah." We exchanged phone numbers and she walked to the back doors. She looked at me and winked. "See you later… Percy Jackson." And with that she left. Leaving me there, with my heart longing to see her again.

[PAGE BREAK]

I arrived at my home at 2:45. My mom was asleep on the couch as well as Tyson. They were probably waiting for me. I covered them with blankets before heading upstairs to my room.

I collapsed on my bed and thought about how much I loved that ratty old bus for helping me find the girl of my dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. That's all I have to say… okay bye.**

**Favorite Band: The Cab**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 2: Wrong Numbers, Meet Ups, and Songs

"Okay, okay. Hold up. Did you say she was 22?" Nico asked. I told them about Annabeth after we finished practicing and I don't think they believe she's even real. "Yes."

"Whoa. Good job Perce." Leo gave me a fist bump. "Thanks Leo. At least you believe me." I said. "Oh come on Percy. Meeting on a bus? That sound too cliché to be real." Beck said. "Well, if you don't believe _me_, then you'll believe her." I said while pulling my phone out. Leo looked astonished. "You got her phone number?"

I smirked. "Yep." I pressed her contact and put it on speaker. The guys gathered around me. It rang 3 times before the person answered. "Hello this is Pizza Hut. What can I order for you today?" The guys immediately started cracking up. I frowned. "Um…hello?" I said. The guy over the phone said something but they were laughing too loud for me to hear him. "Guys, will you quiet down?!" They started controlling their laughter by taking deep breaths and pursing their lips together.

I turned back to the phone. "I'm sorry, uhh… is there an Annabeth Chase there?" I said hopefully. "Who?" He said. I sighed. She gave me a different number. Probably on purpose. "Sorry. I must've gotten the wrong number." I hung up.

I slouched down on the couch, miserably. "Hey come on man. There's other fish in the sea." Leo said. "Yeah and maybe some that are actually your age." Beck said. Nico snickered. I glared at them. "You guys don't understand. I just really felt like she was going to be an important person in my life." Nico looked at me with a guilty look on his face. "Look, is there any other way you can contact her? Maybe try to convince her to go out with you?" He said.

"Well…" I pondered for a moment. "She did mention she was an architect at some place called Athena's… something. I don't remember where." Leo and Becks eyes widened. "Athena's Parthenon?" Leo asked. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Our dad helped build something for them one time." Beck explained. "Dude I think I still remember where their office building was." Leo said. I was suddenly excided. "Can you take me to it?"

"Yeah."

"Fantastic." I got up and ran to my room. I grabbed my favorite shirt. It had a picture of my favorite singer, Kurt Cobain (Lead singer of Nirvana), on it. I also put on a pair of jeans and my converse before sprinting straight to Becks truck.

[PAGE BREAK]

The guys told me words of encouragement the whole way there but that didn't stop me from being nervous. Beck parked in front of a 30 story building. "Okay we're here. Are you ready?" Leo asked. "No."

"Okay. Good luck." Leo said before shooing me out of the car. They said to call them when I was ready to go home and then they drove off. I started walking to the building when all of a sudden, a flash of blond hair showed up on my right. I turned towards in to see Annabeth walking out of the building and walking farther away from me. She was wearing her black jeans again except this time she was wearing a black blazer. The wind blew on her, allowing me to see that she was wearing a white shirt. And then, of course, her heels. I started running my way towards her. "Hey! Annabeth! Wait up!" I called. She turned around and smiled after realizing it was me. When I caught up to her, she gave me a simple wave and said, "Hey."

I headed straight to the point, not even bothering to say hi. "Annabeth, what happened? I thought we actually liked each other." She frowned. "What do you me-" I cut her off. "I mean you gave me a wrong number. You gave me the number to Pizza Hut. I like pizza but I'd much rather see you than some random delivery guy."

"I didn't give you the wrong number. Let me see your phone." I took out my phone and gave it to her. She slid her finger across the screen a few times before she saw her contact. Her eyes widened. "Oh…" She looked at me. "I'm sorry Percy. I did put in the wrong number." She looked at my phone again before she started to tap the screen. After a minute, she gave me back my phone and told me, "I put in the right number." I looked at her skeptically. She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Go ahead and call it."

I pressed the new number and waited. I heard a faint sound of ringing coming from Annabeth. She took out her phone and showed me the screen. It said Percy on it. Annabeth answered it and said, "Hello?" I put the phone on my ear. "Hi."

She smiled. "So I was wondering if you wanted to go to Jamba Juice with me. You know as an apology for giving you the wrong number." She said into the phone.

"I'd love too."

[PAGE BREAK]

When we arrived at Jamba Juice, I immediately knew what I wanted. Annabeth ordered first. "I'll have a Caribbean Passion please."

"And I'll have a Strawberry Surf Rider please."

"Okay that'll be a total of 4.98 dollars." Annabeth reached into her purse and was about to give the guy a 5 dollar bill but I was quicker and paid for the smoothies. Annabeth stood there shocked as I took the smoothies of the counter. I winked at her and walked to a booth. She followed me and sat on the opposite side of me. She took her smoothie and glared at me. Which was the most terrifying sight I've ever seen in my life but I played it off by taking a gulp of the strawberry and peach deliciousness. "Percy. I told you I was going to pay for the drinks. This was supposed to be an apology for you not me."

I just smirked at her. "I wanted to be a gentleman and pay for the lady." She rolled her eyes. "Okay fine. But next time, let me pay."

"So that means there's going to be another date?"

"Don't get cocky." We both started laughing. When we finished our laughing fit, Annabeth started scowling at something behind me. "What's wrong?" I asked. "That 17 year old over there. He's always here and likes to flirt with me all the time." I turned my head slightly and saw the guy walking over here. "Hey babe." He said trying to kiss Annabeth only to receive a push from her. "Matt, I already told you. We're not dating." I finally got a glimpse of his face under the hoodie and I was filled with fear. It was Matt Sloan. My middle school bully. I wasn't scared of him or anything but I was scared that he was going to tell Annabeth my real age.

Matt looked at me. "Who are you?" Oh thank gods he didn't recognized me. "Matt, this is Percy. My-"

"Boyfriend." I completed, holding out my hand. He looked angry. "Boyfriend? Annabeth, you're cheating on me?" He slapped my hand away. Normally, I would've already been all over this guy but because I was pretending to be a 22 year old, I had to be mature. I just looked at him in shock. "Matt! Please. Get out of here. You're going to cause a scene." Annabeth whisper-yelled. Matt looked at her and then back at me. "This isn't over yet. I will fight for her." And with that he left. Annabeth and I continued drinking our smoothies in an awkward silence before she said, "I like your shirt."

I looked up and said, "What?"

"I said I like your shirt. Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, right?" I stared at her. "You know Nirvana?"

"Who doesn't?" This girl keeps getting better and better. "What's your favorite song by them?"

"Definitely Smells Like Teen Spirit." I felt my jaw fall down slightly. I must've looked funny because she started laughing. I recovered from my shock and started chuckling with her. "I never would've pegged you as a punk rock girl." She grinned. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." She took a sip of her drink before saying, "It's getting late. We should head home." We both got up and walked out of Jamba Juice.

[PAGE BREAK]

After 5 minutes of debating, Annabeth finally let me walk her home. "So, is Smells Like Teen Spirit your favorite song or is it another song?" I asked after 5 minutes of silent walking. "My favorite song is by Bon Jovi. I'm pretty sure you can guess what song it is." I smiled. "Livin' On A Prayer?" She smiled. "Yep."

"You know my friends and I did a cover of that song one time."

"You sing?" She asked. "Yeah." I said sheepishly. "My friends and I have a band."

"A band? That's so cool." I smirked. "You should come to my house one day and hear us play something." She looked excided. "I'd love that." She stopped walking and said, "This is where I live." She lived in a condo. The condo's looked really fancy. "This is really nice." I said. "Thanks. My mother designed it." I forgot her mom was an architect too. "Well, I'll see you later Percy." She was about to open the door when I called out to her. "Hey! Maybe you could come over to my house tomorrow and listen to our band? I mean you probably don't want to ever see me again but it doesn't hurt to ask right?" She grinned and walked back to me. "I'd like to see you perform. And don't worry Percy," She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm here to stay." She walked inside her condo. Leaving me there, happier than when she sat next to me yesterday.

[PAGE BREAK]

"That was a really bad idea to invite her." Leo said. We were currently driving back home at 12:28 in the morning. "I know. But I really want to see her again so I told her she could come watch us practice."

"What are going to do about your mom? I mean we can't really tell her that you're dating a 22 year old." Nico said. "Okay first of all, we are not dating, and second of all, I'll just ask her if she could go get me medicine from the store."

"What does medicine have to do with it?" Beck asked. "Well, my fellow band members, I'm going to send my mom to the store to go look for a medicine that I'm going make up." I said.

"What?" Leo asked. Nico sighed. "He means he's going to make up a medicine brand name and make his mom go look for it. And since it doesn't exist, it'll take her longer to find it."

"Ohhhhhh! That's genius." Leo said. We all started laughing at Leo's slowness. After we finished laughing, we stayed in a companionable silence until Nico whispered, "Percy…how much do you like her?" I was taken aback by his question. "I thought it was obvious." I replied. Nico sighed. "Percy… you're my best friend. And best friends don't like to see other best friends get hurt."

"How would I get hurt?"

"Annabeth." I looked at him, confused at what he was getting at. "Look Perce. Annabeth is 22. And 22 is the year where people try to find someone to spend the rest of their life with. If she ever finds out you're really 17… she might move on to someone else."

"Are you telling to give up on her?"

"No. Well, yes. Maybe you should back out before you dig a bigger hole."

"What?"

"He means you should give up before your little lie goes awry and you get your heart broken." Beck interrupted.

"I'm not going to back out. No matter how much you try to convince me, I'm still going to find a way to date her."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Let's just let him make him own decisions on this one guys."

They all agreed and we continued driving home.

[PAGE BREAK] **(So many page breaks)**

Next Morning (Sunday):

I stayed up all night making a song for Annabeth to hear. When I woke up, there was only 45 minutes left before Annabeth arrived. I jumped out of my bed and sprinted down the stairs to see my mom watching t.v. "Mom!" She jumped. "Oh! Percy, you scared me."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Hey, I have a stomach ache. Can you go get me some medicine from the store?"

"Oh, sure." She got up as I told her the fake name of the medicine. "I'll be right back." She gave me a peck on the cheek before leaving. I immediately called the band over and rushed to my room to get ready. Tyson woke up when I came out of my room, dressed and showered. "Hey Tyson."

"peanut butter." He muttered sleepily. You see Tyson has Autism and has had it all his life. He is 13 years old and the sweetest person alive next to my mom. Once in a while he'll spurt out random words and his favorite thing to say was: Peanut butter.

"The guys and I are going to practice, you want to come see it?" That seemed to wake him up because his eyes widened and he ran straight to the garage. The doorbell rang. I went downstairs and opened the door to see my best friends there. "Hey guys. Hurry up and get ready. She should be here in 10 minutes." I said rushing my friends inside.

Annabeth arrived at exactly 12:00. This time she wasn't wearing a fancy blazer. She was wearing a white shirt with her light blue jeans rolled up to the ankles. She also had on light brown ankle boots. In other words, she looked absolutely beautiful. "Hey." She said giving me a hug. I hugged her back. The moment was ruined by Beck. "Hey Perce. Was that he-. Oh… sorry. I'll just go back into the garage." He walked back into the garage, leaving me and Annabeth blushing.

We walked into the garage and Leo's jaw dropped. "Well, well, well, well, well. Who is this fine lady?" He said kissing her hand. "Annabeth Chase. Pleased to meet you." She shook hands with the guys and I told her to go sit down next to Tyson. Tyson meeting Annabeth was probably the funniest thing ever. He stared at her the whole time she was talking and I might've seen him drooling a little bit. "Hi Tyson. I'm Annabeth. I've heard a lot about you from Percy."

"You're pretty." Was all he said. We all chuckled. "Okay so Annabeth. Our band is called the Demigods." Annabeth nodded slowly. "Cool name."

"Thanks. And um… I kinda wrote you a song last night. Do you want to hear it?" Annabeth looked honored. "Sure." I handed the guys a copy of my song and we started playing for Annabeth.

**End Up Here by 5 Seconds Of Summer**

_(P)=Percy (A)=All_

_(P) You walked in_

_Everyone was asking for your name_

_You just smiled and told them "Trouble"_

_My head spins_

_I'm pressed against the wall_

_Just watching your every move_

_You're way too cool_

_And you're coming this way_

_Coming this way_

_(A) How did we end up talking in the first place?_

_You said you like my Cobain shirt_

_Now we're walking back to your place_

_You're telling me how you love that song_

_About living on a prayer_

_I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there_

_And when I wake up next to you I wonder how_

_How did we end up here?_

_(How did we end up here?_

_How did we end up here?)_

_(P) Next day out_

_Everybody thought you were so insane_

_'__Cause you were so far out of my league_

_My friends say I should lock you down_

_Before you figure me out and you run away_

_But you don't and you won't as you kiss me_

_And you tell me that you're here to stay_

_(A) How did we end up talking in the first place?_

_You said you liked my Cobain shirt_

_Now we're walking back to your place_

_You're telling me how you love that song_

_About living on a prayer_

_I'm pretty sure we're halfway there_

_And when I wake up next to you I wonder how_

_How did we end up here?_

_(P) Call me lucky 'cause in the end_

_I'm a six and she's a ten_

_She's so fit, I'm insecure_

_But she keeps coming back for more_

_(A) How did we end up talking in the first place?_

_You said you like my Cobain shirt_

_Now we're walking back to your place_

_You're telling me how much you love that song_

_About living on a prayer_

_I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there_

_And when I wake up next to you I wonder how_

_How did we end up here?_

_How did we end up,_

_How did we end up here?_

_How did we end up,_

_How did we end up here?_

When we finished, Tyson was clapping loudly with his big hands. Annabeth looked stunned. I tried to catch my breath as the guys clapped each other's backs. I walked up to Annabeth and sat next to her. "Did you like it?" She looked at me still stunned. "No." I frowned. She didn't like it? Why not? "I loved it." Oh thank gods. "So you guys have had this band the whole time and never bothered to try and become famous?"

"Well, we did once but the guy we performed for didn't like us so we just have been practicing and getting better since then."

"That's shocking because you guys are really good." The guys smiled. "Thanks." They said in unison. "Well, we'll leave you guys to hang out and talk. The boys and I will be in the living room, drinking apple juice out of a box and watching Spongebob. Come on Tyson." Leo stated. Then they left.

"So… I loved your song. Can you like record it for me so I can listen to it on a daily bases." Annabeth asked. Percy laughed. "I'll have to talk to Leo about that."

"In the song, you said I'll run away when I figure you out. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"No. No. Um… I'm not hiding anything. I just put that there for fun." Annabeth frowned for a while before shaking her head as if she was dismissing an idea out of her head. She looked at me and hugged me. "I trust you enough to know you're telling the truth. I mean if you really were hiding something, it couldn't be that bad."

Oh Annabeth. If only you knew how bad it really was.

**As you can see, Percabeth is slowly building into a couple. Hoped you like this chapter because it was over 3000 words. And just a little news I have. I'm getting a puppy! Yay! And guess what I'm going to name him. Tyson. Yes after Percy's half-brother. Anyway, bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy with school and basketball. I kept writing during the week but my laptop crashed and deleted half the chapter so I've had to re-write it about 2 times. But it is finally here! Enjoy.**

**Favorite Singer: Tori Kelly**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 2: Annabeth Gets A Gig

Annabeth's POV:

If I told you I didn't like Percy, I'd be lying. He makes me happy every time I see him. It's been 2 weeks since I heard Percy perform that song for me. We're getting closer day by day. We even almost kissed. Almost.

_*Flashback*_

_It was on a Friday. Percy and I were sitting on my couch, watching a movie. My head was leaning against his shoulder. We both watched in silence. Then all of a sudden, a piece of popcorn flew at my face. It hit me on my nose. I took my head off of Percy's shoulder and looked at him. He was smirking at me. I took a piece out of the bowl and threw it at him._

_He gasped as it hit his eye. I started laughing as he rubbed the butter out of his eye. "That's what you get." I said in between laughs. "Okay," He moved the bowl to the coffee table. "You're gonna get it." I got up and ran away squealing. I know, I know. Annabeth Chase squealing? Well that's what Percy does to me. He turns me into a different person. He ran after me laughing. I ran into my room and hid in the closet. I saw him pass me through the blinds in the closet. "Annabeth… where are you? Come on. I just want to get my revenge." I was in an uncomfortable spot so I moved slightly only to knock down my suitcase that I kept in here._

_Percy turned towards the closet and smirked. "Really? The closet?" He was about to open the door before I pushed it open and sprinting out of the room. He laughed and chased after me yet again. I was laughing so much that my whole body went limp and I fell down. Well I almost fell down, but Percy caught me by the waist and pulled my back towards his chest. "You okay?" He asked chuckling. I stopped laughing and replied with, "My ribs hurt."_

_"__Well, you have been laughing for 10 minutes. So I guess they're supposed to hurt." I grinned. "So are you going to forget about punishing me?" _

_"__Nope." It all happened in a flash. One second, Percy and I are standing there in each other's arms and then the next I'm on the ground with Percy straddling me and tickling me to death. "P-Percy! S-s-stop! Please! P-Percy!" I was laughing so much that I started crying. "Say you're sorry." He said chuckling. "Percy! I-I'm s-sorry! I c-can't breathe!"_

_He stopped tickling me and just stared me. I took big breaths before I could start breathing normal again. I saw Percy starting to lean in. I just stared at him. He was about to kiss me. I felt his breath on my lips and he got closer and closer before…_

[PAGE BREAK]

"Before? Before what?" My best friend, Julia, said. We were currently at Hard Rock Café, talking about Percy almost kissing me. "Well, I might have sneezed in his face…" I said sheepishly. Julia's jaw dropped. "You what?!" She exclaimed, which earned us a few stares from some people. "Shhhh! We're not the only ones here, you know?"

"Oh. I'm sorry but how can you do that? He was going to kiss you Annabeth."

"Well it's not like I can control my allergies." She shook her head and took a sip of her strawberry smoothie. Julia had brown hair and blue eyes. She has been my best friend since college. Which wasn't that long ago. Only like, 1 year ago. Julia sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Is he nice to you?"

"Um yeah. I already told you how he is."

"I know. I just wanted make sure if he wasn't… a Luke." Luke was my ex-boyfriend. I fell in love with him 4 years ago. We started dating when I was 18. He was so charming and nice but he cheated on me. Being the dumb teenager I was, I forgave him and continued dating him. Then after 2 years of dating, the girl he cheated on me with showed up at my college dorm and beat me up. Apparently, Luke hadn't broken up with her and she found out who I was.

I was heartbroken and hurt. I didn't trust any men for a while. To be honest, Percy was the first guy I trusted in a while.

"He's not like Luke." I reassured. "Are you sure?" I actually wasn't. I sometimes felt like Percy wasn't telling me something. Something big. I told myself not to tell Julia and instead I told her, "I'm sure."

She studied me warily before shrugging and taking another sip of her drink. I was about to ask her how her boyfriend, Jake, was but I got cut off by a woman's voice. "Excuse me? Hi! Welcome to Hard Rock Café! Anyway I'm here on the stage to announce something!" The woman yelled as the crowd quieted down. "Okay. We have been having trouble getting artists to perform here, so if you have anyone in mind to perform here then there will a sign-up sheet in the back. We'll be willing to pay. Anyway, that's it. Continue enjoying your visit at Hard Rock Café."

And with that she walked off the stage. I thought about what she had said. Performers, singing, money, in front of people. I gasped out loud. "What?" Julia asked worriedly. I got up and went to go find the sign-up sheet.

[PAGE BREAK]

Percy's POV:

When I woke up today, I was planning on hanging out with guys, which I haven't done in a while considering I had been hanging out with Annabeth non-stop for the past 2 weeks. But my plans were thrown out the window when they said that they were busy. Now here I was eating a bowl of cereal on the couch watching t.v. while my mom was at work. Annabeth had been on vacation. That's why she'd been hanging out with me so much. But now that she was back at work, she's always busy.

I was about to refill my bowl before my phone rang. "Hello?"

"Percy!" It was Annabeth. I smiled. "Hey Annabeth. How are you doing?"

"Good. Percy, are you with the guys?"

"No. Why? Do you want to come over?"

"Yeah but can you call the guys and tell them to go over to your house? I have an announcement for all of you guys."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye Percy." She hung up. I called the guys and pleaded them to come over. Apparently, they were mad at me. But since I practically begged them to come over, they came. When they arrived, Beck had his arms crossed while Nico and Leo were glaring at me. I smiled nervously. "Hey guys. Um why don't you guys come in?" They walked in and continued to stare at me. "Why are you guys mad at me?" I said getting tired of the silence. Beck was the first to speak up. "Because… we are less important than your precious Annabeth."

"Wait. You guys are jealous?" I asked. Nico spoke up. "I thought we were best friends Percy. I though girls separating our friendship was forbidden." I raised my eyebrows. "She's not separating us. In fact she is the one who told me to call you guys over. The guys looked confused. "She did?" Leo questioned. I nodded as I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door to see Annabeth grinning widely. She walked in and told us, "Hi."

The guys grumbled a greeting before sitting down. I turned towards Annabeth. "Hey. Why did you want to come over? I thought you were busy?"

"I was but I just got off work. Listen I have something to announce to all of y'all, so why don't you sit down?" I nodded and sat next Leo. Annabeth took a deep breath. "Okay. So… I may have gotten you guys a gig at Hard Rock Café."

My eyes widened as well as Nico, Beck, and Leo's eyes. "WHAT?!" We all exclaimed. The guys started cheering, as I stared at Annabeth. This girl… She is too good for me. I stood up and hugged her. "Thank you." She nodded. "Don't mention it." I turned towards the guys and they were looking at Annabeth. Then everything happened so quick I didn't even have time to blink. I turned to my right to see the guys carrying Annabeth like she was a queen. I started laughing. "We, the demigods, officially make you, Annabeth Chase, our best friend forever. Or BFF for short." Leo yelled childishly. I guess they aren't jealous anymore. Annabeth started laughing with me.

I started staring at her. She had gotten us a gig. This could get us a head start in life and here I was keeping a huge secret from her. She is too good for me. She deserves a good, honest, handsome, caring, man. Maybe I'm not that person that will sweep her off her feet like I'd hoped.

I think I need to tell Annabeth my secret… I looked at Annabeth one more time. Or maybe I could wait a couple more months.

[PAGE BREAK]

I took a deep breath. "Annabeth… I'm so nervous. What if I mess up and forget the words? I'm going to make a fool out of myself." The Demigods and I were about to go on stage and perform in about 13 minutes. Annabeth was here with me, trying to calm me down. "You'll do fine. Don't let your nerves get to you. Just take deep breaths." She said while rubbing my back.

We stayed like that for a while before I heard a staff worker say that we were going on stage in 2 minutes. I started to rub my legs nervously. "Oh gods…oh gods, oh gods, oh gods." I repeated over and over again. "Percy you're going to do fine. I'll be in the crowd. I'll make sure I'm in a place where you can see me and you can stare at me the whole time you sing, okay?" That seemed to calm me down. I nodded. Then she left without another word. The worker came back and said, "Okay guys. You're on."

I took my position behind the curtain and took once last deep breath before the curtain opened. Hard Rock Café wasn't big enough for the amount of people there. So some people had to sit on the tables. Everyone had their eyes on us. I searched for Annabeth and thankfully found her by a group of Goth kids. She smiled at me and I felt all my worry disappear. "Hi there. We're the Demigods. We are here to perform for you today." Everyone just kept staring at me. I gulped and said, "okay." I turned to the guys and asked them if they were ready.

"As ready as we'll ever be."

Then we started playing.

**(Kiss Me Kiss Me by: 5 Seconds of Summer)**

_(P)=Percy (A)=All_

_(A) Whoa-oh-oh_

_Whoa-oh_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories_

_(A) Whoa-oh-oh_

_Whoa-oh_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories_

_Can I call wake you up on a Sunday?_

_Late night, I think we need to get away._

_Head lights, hold tight turn the radio loud._

_Let me know where to go and I'll get you there._

_Tell the truth and I'll show you how to dare._

_Flash lights held tight we could own this town._

_Never say goodbye._

_(A) And so kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_

_And tell me that I'll see you again_

_'__Cause I don't know,_

_If I can let you_

_And so kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_

_I'm dying just to see you again_

_Let's make tonight_

_The best of our lives,_

_Yeah_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories_

_(A) Whoa-oh-oh_

_Whoa-oh_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories_

_Close your eyes you'll be mine and it's alright._

_Take a breath no rest till the sunrise._

_Heartbeat so sweet, when your lips touch mine._

_We don't have to go home right now,_

_We're never gonna stop 'cause we're dreaming out loud._

_We know what we want, we know we're going to get it_

_Somehow._

_Never say goodbye._

_(A) And so kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_

_And tell me that I'll see you again_

_'__Cause I don't know,_

_If I l can let you go_

_So kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_

_I'm dying just to see you again_

_Let's make tonight_

_The best of our lives,_

_Yeah._

_(P) Here's to teenage memories._

_Here's to teenage memories_

_(A) And so kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_

_And tell me that I'll see you again_

_Let's make tonight_

_The best of our lives,_

_Yeah._

_(P) Here's to teenage memories_

_(A) Whoa-oh-oh_

_Whoa-oh_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories._

_(A) Whoa-oh-oh_

_Whoa-oh_

_(P) Here's to teenage memories._

The crowd started going crazy. I was staring at Annabeth the whole time and she was smiling at me. I took a deep breath. "Thank you." I said into the mic before walking backstage. The guys started yelling, "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" while I waited for Annabeth. She showed up after the roar of the crowd died down. "You guys did really good out there." She complimented. Leo took a bow. "Why thank you."

Beck chuckled and said, "Come on guys. Let's leave these two lovebirds alone." And with that they left while Annabeth and I were blushing. I would've kissed her right then and there except for the fact that the stage help was there cleaning up our mess. "So… want to back to my house and watch movies with me?" Annabeth asked.

"Thought you'd never ask."

**Hello there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. And can I just say on how confused I am. Okay so my crush is making me so confused. I don't know whether or not if they are trying to make me jealous. It's hard to explain what they are doing but I have seen in movies what they are doing. It's where they laugh and look at you as if they want you to be jealous that they are laughing with someone else besides you. I don't know. It's confusing but anyway, enough of my love life.**

**I got the puppy I said I was going to get. It is very chubby and fluffy. That's all I have to say for today.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm so so sooo sorry I haven't uploaded in a long time! I've had the BIGGEST case of writer's block. But don't worry! I've gotten an idea. Oh and make sure you read the authors note at the bottom. Enjoy.**

**Favorite Color: Blue**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 4: We Got Popular

Percy's POV:

Ugh…

_Thunk_

Ow! What did I just hit? I opened my eyes, slowly to see that I hit my head on a window. And not just any window, Beck's window. When did I get into Beck's truck? I picked my head up, hearing my neck crack from the uncomfortable position I was in. I looked outside and saw that we were on our way to school. Wow… that was fast.

Last thing I remember was leaving Annabeth's. I had stayed over at her house for the night. I had told my mom that I was stayed at Nico's house. Annabeth and I stayed up watching movies until 3:00. So you could say that I was tired. When I realized that I had to go to school, I woke up. And being the nice guy I was. I couldn't leave without telling Annabeth. That would've been rude.

_*Flashback*_

_"__Why do you have go now, so early in the morning?" Annabeth said sleepily. I walked towards the door and stopped in front of it. "Because I have somewhere to go right now." Annabeth looked at her watch. "At 6:23 in the morning?" I stuttered out an answer. "I, uh, have j-job interview." She rolled her eyes. I opened the door and walked into the hallway._

_I turned around to look at Annabeth. She yawned, rather cutely if you ask me. I resisted the urge to kiss her right then and there. "I'm gonna go now." I said. She looked disappointed, which made want to stay. But then I thought about how my mom would feel about me skipping school and decided against it. What can I say? I'm a mamma's boy._

_I gave Annabeth a hug. "I'll call you later okay?" I said. "Okay." She murmured against my collarbone. She was shorter than me. I still tease her about that._

_She pulled away from the hug first. She looked like she was thinking about something. Then all of a sudden, she kissed me. Well, it wasn't really a _kiss_ kiss. It was a kiss on the cheek. She blushed and muttered, "Bye." Before closing the door. It wasn't the first time she kissed my cheek but I still felt shocked. I reached up and touched the cheek she kissed. One day, I'm going to get more than a kiss on the cheek. But for now I'll have to settle for it._

_*End Flashback*_

After I got out of her apartment complex, I called Beck and asked for a ride to school. I normally get a ride to school from my mom but considering the situation, that would be a bad idea to call her. Beck arrived shortly after I called and I had to go to school in yesterday's clothes. When I got into the car, I realized how tired I felt. That was until we got to the school.

*^*^*^*^Page Break^*^*^*^*

"That crowd last night was awesome!" I heard Leo whisper-yell to Nico. Nico chuckled. I shook my head, still trying to wake myself up. Beck kept driving while Nico and Leo talked in the back. Beck parked the car and we got out. When we got into the school, everyone was staring at us. Especially the girls. They looked like they wanted to tackle us and kiss us to death. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. We started walking to homeroom. Then they started murmuring to their friends as we passed by.

"Is that them?"

"They look hot."

"Yeah especially Leo."

I could practically feel Leo's grin when we heard that comment. They kept talking about us as we walked. When we got to homeroom, the people in there stared at us as well. It was starting to get annoying. We took our seats in the back and tried to ignore the stares. Nico isn't the kind of person that loves attention, so he snapped. "What?!" He yelled at them. The girls just giggled. A girl next to us said, "Are you guys the Demigods?"

My face went pale. So did the others. How could they know about the band? Wait…

I turned towards Nico. "The gig?" I asked. He nodded. "The gig." I turned back to the girls. "Why, yes. We are the Demigods." Leo said before I could say anything. "Would you like an autograph, a free t-shirt, or perhaps a kiss on the cheek?" Leo questioned. The girls blushed and giggled yet again. The bell rang and we all casted our attention towards the teacher.

I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about how everyone knows about our band. I've never been popular before so I don't know what to do. Do I pretend to be someone I'm not or do I just be myself? I kept battling my inner self. I was so in thought that I didn't hear when my teacher called my name. "Mr. Jackson?" He called again. Nico hit me on the shoulder and I came back from my thoughts. I looked at Nico. He pointed towards the teacher. _He's calling you_, he mouthed.

I looked at my teacher. He had his arms crossed. "Oh, um… yes Mr. King?" I asked. He sighed. "I said that you and your band should enter the battle of the bands that's coming up in January." Even he knows about our band?! Wait… battle of the bands? We've never thought about trying out for that. I turned back to the guys. "You guys want to?" They all nodded. I looked back at Mr. King. "We're going to try."

*^*^*^*^Page Break^*^*^*^*

"Can we sit with you?" was a question that I will never get out of my head. Yeah, it was repeated that much. The guys and I just wanted to eat our lunch peacefully in the back of the cafeteria like we normally did but everyone tried to sit with us. One girl even tried to kiss me. I told her that I had a girlfriend. What? Annabeth _is _a girl and she is my friend.

Even when lunch ended, they were still trying to sit with us. Unfortunately, we had to go to 6th period so we said, "Tomorrow." Before we ran to our class. In case you're wondering, the guys and I have the same classes. It's one of the reason we were best friends.

"Wait!" I heard a girl yell. I knew it was probably a fangirl but since I'm such a gentleman, I stopped. I braced myself to be tackled. But instead a pretty girl with wavy red hair and green eyes came up to me and said, "You forgot your backpack." She was slightly out of breath. She was really pretty but I kept in mind that I liked Annabeth and Annabeth only. "Oh," I took it from her. I heard Nico yell. "Come on Percy!" I looked at her. "Thanks." I said before running back.

*^*^*^*^Page Break^*^*^*^*

We were the first ones to get to English. When we entered, I heard our teacher, Ms. Edwin, quietly singing our song.

"_And so kiss me, kiss me, kiss me. And tell me that I'll see you again. Cause I don't know, if I can let you go._" I cleared my throat. "Um, Ms. Edwin?" She jumped. "Oh!" She blushed. "I'm sorry. Um, why don't you guys take a seat and get ready for class?" I nodded. Wow, even Ms. Edwin knows about the band. She doesn't seem like the kind of woman that listens to our kind of music.

Just then, a red head walked into our class. And not just any red head. It was the red head that found my backpack. She looked at me and grinned. She walked over and sat in front of me. "Hey." She said. "Hey, um, you know I never actually got to know your name." She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare." I smirked. "R.E.D.?" I asked. She laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, Red. I'm Percy Jackson."

Ms. Edwin spoke up. "Okay class! We need to get started! Lots of things to do today!" We all groaned. "Oh calm down! I was kidding. We only have to go over your project. And yes you will be working on this over Christmas break." We all groaned again. Ms. Edwin rolled her cerulean eyes and tied her brown hair up.

"Okay, so our project is going to kind of be like a song writing project. Only we aren't preforming it. You can if you want extra credit." The class murmured. I heard a few people say, "I should partner up with the songwriter for the Demigods." I think Ms. Edwin heard them because she said, "I've assigned partners." Drew Tanaka spoke up, "Wait, this is an English class. Why do we have to make a song? That's music not English." She said it with attitude and if there's anything that Ms. Edwin hates, it's attitude. Ms. Edwin raised her eyebrows.

"English is like writing and writing involves words. Words is a part of a song. Music and English are more alike than you think, Ms. Tanaka. Now, if you ever speak to me with attitude again, I will have you do the alternate assignment. You want to know what the alternate assignment is?" She went back around to her desk and pulled out a booklet larger than an encyclopedia. "This booklet is half reading and half questions which will take you _all _of Christmas break. Now do I make myself clear, Ms. Tanaka?" Drew visibly gulped. "Um, no. T-thank you, Ms. Edwin." I wanted to laugh. Drew was one of the school bullies and no one except her friends liked her. Even Ms. Edwin hated her. Ms. Edwin put the book pack n her desk and took out a clipboard.

"Okay. Now partners!" She said going back into her cheery self. "First, Drew and Octavian." Drew grimaced. Octavian was the weird kid in class. He talked about world domination all the time and was in love with Drew. "Yes!" Octavian said in his nasally voice. "Next, Leo and Calypso." Leo smirked at Calypso, who rolled her eyes. I saw a hint of blush on both of their faces but decided not to comment on it. "Frank and Hazel. Jason and Piper. Silena and Charles." Beck smiled towards Silena. "Nico and Thalia." Nico blushed. He's had a crush on her for about 3 years now but he's never actually gotten the guts to ask her out. Thalia just smirked at him. Ms. Edwin called out a couple more names before actually calling my name.

"And last but not least, Percy Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare." I smiled at her when she turned around. "Okay for the last 10 minutes of class, you could get started on your project." And with that she sat down at her desk.

"Um, what kind of song do you want to do?" She pondered for a moment. "How about a slow song?" I nodded. We worked on the song for a while and only got the first verse done. Then the bell rang, signaling that school had ended. Rachel gathered her stuff and got ready to walk out. Just ask her, I yelled at myself. I sighed. "Wait, Rachel." I gathered my stuff and told the guys to meet me at the truck. And I ran after her.

She was waiting for me by the door. "Hey. Can we meet at my house later? You know to continue working on the project?" She bit her lip. "Um, sure. Where do you live?"

"3647 Samson Avenue." **(A/N: Don't look it up. I made it up.)**

She put the address in her phone and then looked back up at me. "What time do I come over?" I thought about that. "How about… around 5:00." She smiled and nodded. "Okay."

*^*^*^*^Page Break^*^*^*^*

Rachel arrived at 5:10. She brought along a sketchbook and two pencils. I didn't question her on it. My mom was still working at the candy shop. I led Rachel to my room and we stayed in there, working on the song. After about 20 minutes of working, I stood up. Stretching and wincing when I heard my bones cracking. Rachel chuckled. "Tired?" She asked. "Yeah." I sat back down on my bed, right next her. I looked at her as she sketched a drawing a tree. She noticed me staring at her. She blushed. "Why are you staring at me?" I looked away and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I, um, no reason." I tried to change the subject. "Hey, do you know how people found out about the Demigods?" She looked up from her drawing and said, "Yeah… I thought you knew. Considering you're in the band." I shook my head. She sighed and closed her sketchbook. "Do you know Thalia Grace?" Know her? I used to be best friends with her. She is one of the most popular girls at school. She has this group that every girl wants to join. Except what everyone doesn't know is that once you join, you have to give up men. Thalia thought that good men were rare and the world was full of pigs. She didn't think about men that way until her ex-boyfriend Apollo cheated on her. Thalia was the leader to the group. Anyway, instead of telling Rachel all of that, I just nodded.

"Okay. Well Thalia went to the Demigods gig and took a video of you guys performing. Then she sent it to the whole school with the title, 'Best Band Ever.' Being the popular girl she is, she got you guys popular. Frankly, I think you should thank her." Rachel said. Thalia did this? Maybe we should thank her…

My phone rang before I could continue talking to Rachel. I picked it off my desk and looked at the caller ID. It was Annabeth. I looked at Rachel. "I, um, have to take this." She nodded and started sketching her tree again. I went out into the hallway and closed my bedroom door. "Hey Annabeth." I said into the phone.

"Hey Percy. How did your interview go?" I frowned. "What interview?" I heard Annabeth chuckle. "You know the interview that you left for." Oh… my lie. "Oh, I d-didn't get the job." I said while rubbing the back of my neck. "Aww. I'm sorry. Better luck next time. Hey look at the bright side." I waited for her to tell the 'bright side'. "Um, what bright side?" I asked after she didn't say anything. She laughed. "I'm sorry Percy, I don't think there is a bright side." Her laugh made me smile. Annabeth was the kind of person that would make you feel better by just smiling at you.

"Hey, why don't I come over? We could watch re-runs of Spongbob?" She asked. She sounded like she missed me. Like really bad. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, sure." She giggled. "Open your door." I heard the doorbell ring and my bedroom door open. Rachel came out with her phone in her hand. "Hey Percy, that's my dad. He said he was coming to pick me up because I'm going to an art convention later. Maybe we should continue tomorrow?" Before I could tell Rachel to stop, she ran downstairs and opened the door to a smiling Annabeth. As soon as Annabeth saw Rachel, she scowled. "Who are you?"

Rachel smiled. "I'm Rachel. Who are you?" I ran towards Rachel and put my arm around her. "Annabeth! Hey! How's it going?" I said in a cheery voice. Annabeth looked at the arm around Rachel with a hurt expression on her face. I removed it off of Rachel. Rachel was starting to put things together. "Oh…" She said. "Oh…" I mocked. Rachel looked at me. "I'm, uh, going to go now. See you later." Rachel moved past Annabeth while Annabeth said nothing. I opened the door wider.

"Wanna come in?" She walked in wordlessly. I closed the door and that's when Annabeth snapped. "Who was she?" I smiled sheepishly. "A friend?" I said it more like a question than a statement. She walked up and put her face up in my face. "Percy…" Her gray eyes were blazing with anger and hurt. "Who. Was. She?" She demanded. I scoffed softly. Why was she getting so angry? "Annabeth, I already told you she's just a friend-" Then the door opened. My stomach dropped. It was my mom. She doesn't know about Annabeth. Was is _she _going to do when she finds out Annabeth is 22?

"Oh! Well, hello there. You must be a friend of Percy. Sorry for startling you. I just got back from work." Annabeth's face immediately softened. I, on the other hand, was terrified. "Hey mom. Um, Annabeth and I are going upstairs. I'll talk to you later." I winced when my voice cracked. My mom frowned with a smile before shaking her head and walking into the kitchen.

I grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her upstairs. When we got into my room, I tried to reassure Annabeth. "A-Annabeth! That wasn't what it looked like. My mom was just visiting, like she does. She doesn't live here! I-I don't live with my mom!" Annabeth interrupted me. "Percy, its fine if you live with your mother but what I wanna know is who was that girl?" Oh my gods! Why does she care so much?!

"Annabeth. Why? Why do you want to know so much? I already told you she's just a friend. I-I met her at Starbucks. I went there after the interview." She scowled. "You don't just take a stranger home with you after meeting them in a Starbucks."

"I knew her from high school." I almost yelled that out. "You just said you met her at Starbucks." She sighed. "Percy, I feel like you're hiding something." I was starting to get angry. "Like _I'm _hiding something? Annabeth, you're the one overreacting about this! Maybe you're the one hiding something!" I yelled. Tears started streaming down her face. She reached up and furiously wiped the tears away.

"Yes, Percy. Maybe I am hiding something." She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. It didn't seem to work. I raised my eyebrows. I was genuinely confused. She chuckled humorlessly. "Percy, the reason I'm overreacting is because I'm jealous."

"What? Why?" She rolled her eyes. "You know why." I sighed and walked up to her. I grabbed her hands and looked her straight in the eye. "Annabeth? Why?"

She looked at me for a long time. She stopped crying. Her eyes were full of emotion. She squeezed my hands before saying,

"Percy, I love you."

**Cliffhanger! Haha! Anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best. I'm really tired and I feel like I'm going to pass out any minute. Okay, on to the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:**

**Poll. I'm taking a poll. Should Annabeth be a singer? I've been thinking about making Annabeth having a secret past as a musician. I'm going to put the poll up as soon as I post this chapter. So go vote. Yes or no. I thought maybe I should ask you guys first before I make the decision. If you have any questions, PM me.**

**Okay I'm going to go to sleep now.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there! I hope you enjoyed chapter 4. As I said it might not be the best chapter ever but it was the best I could do at 3:00 in the morning. The poll is still going on. So go vote before it ends. I'll probably end the poll on a week or two. Enjoy.**

**Should Annabeth Be A Musician?:**

**Yes-4**

**No-3**

**Favorite New Artist: 5 Seconds Of Summer**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 5: Confession

Annabeth's POV:

When Percy left my apartment at 6:30 in the morning:

I kissed Percy on the cheek. "Bye." I said quickly before shutting the door on his face. My heart was beating faster than normal. I leaned on the door and sighed. It may have been just a kiss on the cheek but to me it felt like a kiss on the lips. Despite the excitement going through me, I yawned. Percy and I had stayed up last night watching movies and eating popcorn. I walked to my bedroom and went back to sleep. Dreaming of a certain green eyed person.

10:00 in the morning:

_Knock-Knock!_

I groaned. I was still sleeping.

_Knock-Knock!_

Why?! I groaned again and got up. I stretched and walked to the door. "What?!" I yelled as I opened the door. "Whoa! That's no way to talk to your brother. Especially if they brought you breakfast." My brother, Malcolm, said. He was waiting at the door with a bag of donut holes in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. I sighed and gestured for him to get in. He got in and placed the food on my kitchen table. I closed the door. "Not that I don't love you but why are you here?" Malcolm took out a couple of donut holes and started munching on them.

"I just wanted to bring you breakfast. And maybe drive you to work." Malcolm and I worked in the same building. Athena's Parthenon. He was an architect as well. I rolled my eyes. "Malcolm, the only time you've brought me breakfast was on my 20th birthday. And the last time I checked it was December not July." I said. He finished the donut hole he had in his hand and said, "Okay, you got me." He sighed and sat down on my couch. He patted the spot of the couch next to him. He wanted to me to sit with him.

I sat down. "Annabeth, I, um, heard you've been hanging around this guy," He paused. "Yeah?" I said. "Well, m-mom wants you to stop seeing him." My jaw dropped. "What?!" I screamed. He flinched. "She thinks that he's going to hurt you, emotionally. I mean Annabeth, what if he's another… what if he's another Luke." I stood up. "Percy is NOT like Luke! He's just a friend anyways! I-I don't like him that way!" I knew I was lying but I needed to make up any excuse. "Plus, he won't hurt me! He's too nice to do that."

Malcolm looked at me with sympathy. "Annabeth," He said. "I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do about it." I sat down next to him and sighed. "It's not your fault." Malcolm stood up and kissed my head. "Hey, don't get too sad about it. Maybe mom will change her mind." He reassured. Malcolm grabbed his keys and a couple more donut holes before walking to the door and saying, "I'll wait for you in the car."

{Page Break}

The ride to work was silent. Malcolm and I didn't talk at all. I guess he knew that I was upset. How could mom do this? She has NO right on telling me who and who I can't be friends with! I silently debated with myself if whether or not to tell my mom off or to let her have her say in this. I mean she is my mom and she did help create me so I guess she had a say in this. But that still didn't give her the right to choose my friends. I kept arguing with myself as Malcolm parked the car. I got off and walked into the building with Malcolm and almost immediately, I was called by my mom's secretary. "Ms. Chase!" I looked at the woman. She gestured that I needed to go into my mom's office.

My mom's office was the same as the last time I'd been in there. She still had baby pictures of Malcolm and I. Her walls were brown and the floors were a dark wood. And then there was my mom. She was leaning on her desk with her arms crossed. I stood in front of her.

My mom stared at me for a while before saying, "Who is he?" I frowned. "Why do you want to know?" I asked. She uncrossed her arms and sighed. "Because I want to know who my daughter is dating. Is that too much to ask for?" I scowled. "You don't have to be rude about this." Her face softened a little from the hard scowl she had on her face. "I just want to know." I bit my lip and paused for a moment. "His name is Percy. And we're not dating." She waited a moment before looking me straight in the eye and saying, "I want you to stop seeing him." I clenched my jaw. "I know you do. And about that… yeah, I'm not going to stop."

"Yes you will. I'm your mother. You _will _listen to me and do what I tell you."

"I know you're my mother. But I stopped listening to you after I turned 18. You know, ever since I became an adult." She scrunched her eyebrows together. "Look what he's doing to you." She muttered to herself although I heard her. "Percy has _nothing _to do with the way I'm acting. I'm acting this way because I'm angry with you."

"With me?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "Yes you. You always expect me to do things you ask without _ever _asking if that's what I want." She deepened her scowl, if that was even possible. "What do you mean?" She asked. "I mean… I mean when you told me to leave Luke. You told me to leave him because you had a bad feeling about him."

"Well, I was right don't you remember?" I winced. Yeah, I remember very well. "You don't understand what I'm talking about. I'm saying that you told me to break up with him without having a valid reason," She tried to cut me off but I was faster. "Having a bad feeling about him is not a good reason. Look, what I'm trying to say is that you told me to break up with him without even letting me have a say in it." I said, raising my voice. "You never ask me about how I feel about what you ask! You don't know how much Percy means to me! He is the first guy I have trusted since Luke and now you want me to stop seeing him? No, mom. I am not going to stop."

"Listen, I want-"

"No! No more of 'you want'. Let me deal with this. If he's a bad guy, which he's not, I'll deal with it." My mom looked surprised at my sudden outburst. "Annabeth, I know what you are trying to say but the last time I had a bad feeling, I was right."

"Mom! Don't you get it?! I don't want your help! I-I know he's a good person!" My mom walked around to her desk and sat down, signaling that the discussion was over. She cleared her throat. "Annabeth. I am your mother and you will listen to me no matter how old you are. Now, you will stop seeing this Percy kid and that's final." I huffed angrily and ran out of her office, not even bothering to argue with her anymore. My mom is the most stubborn person I've ever met.

On the way out of the building, I told her secretary, "Tell my mom I'm taking the day off." Then I continued stomping out of the building.

{Page Break}

Looking at the New York buildings seemed to calm me down. I past a tourist shop and saw a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sadness filled me as the memories came back to me. I used to live in San Francisco but at age 15, my family moved to New York. My dad had died in San Francisco so that made it hard to leave. My parents weren't exactly the best couple in the world. They used to fight a lot and one day when they got into this really huge fight, I heard my dad yell something and then a door slam. Malcolm and I knew that he left. Whenever he left, he always came back but on that particular day he didn't come back. The next day, we found our mom crying and curled up in a ball on the couch. When we asked her what was wrong, she said our dad had gotten hit by a car and that he died on spot. It was pretty much the worst day in my life.

My dad's parents, my grandparents, wanted my dad to be buried where he was born. Which happened to be in New York. So we moved over here to be closer to my dad and to attend the funeral. I pushed the sad thoughts behind me as I entered my favorite coffee shop. The shop had dim lighting and was kinda small. That's why it was named 'The Alley'. The ding of the bell on top of the door was heard as I opened the door. The shop was empty which made me frown. Usually it was packed in here…

"Mrs. Crawford?" I called out. Maybe it was closed. I heard soft footsteps coming from the small kitchen in the back. Mrs. Crawford popped out. "Oh hey Annabeth! I didn't hear you come in." She said in her southern accent. She wiped her hands on the rag she had and swung it onto her shoulder. I sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter. "Do you want the usual?" She asked as she grabbed a medium sized cup. "Yes please." I said. I looked around. The whole place was clean. Usually the place was dirty at this hour and at the end of the day, Mrs. Crawford starts cleaning it. The shop opened hours ago… But why is it still clean? Does that mean no one has been here? "It's been empty all day." Mrs. Crawford said as she place my drink in front of me. "There's barely been anyone here for the past couple of weeks. One of the teenagers here said it was because of that band that performed at Hard Rock down the block. Now everyone goes down there to see if they're there." Was she talking about the Demigods?

Wow, did I get Percy and his friends popular? I suddenly felt guilty. I didn't mean to take Mrs. Crawford's customers away. She smiled at me. "How have you been sweetie?" She was about 60 years old so she treated me like I was her daughter. "I've been… well?" It came as a question more than a statement. Mrs. Crawford frowned. "What's wrong?" I sighed. "Well, there's this guy…" Mrs. Crawford smiled. She was always interested in my love life for as long as I knew her. "So, a boy? Is he cute?" She teased. I smiled sheepishly and blushed. She chuckled. "He's very cute but there's just one problem." I said. "My mom doesn't like him." Mrs. Crawford bit her lip. "She thinks he's another Luke huh?" Even Mrs. Crawford knew about Luke. I nodded. She sighed and came around the counter. She sat down on a stool next to me. "Okay. Tell me about him." I smiled. That's what I loved about Mrs. Crawford. She was optimistic. She never talked about the bad things in life, just the good things. "His name is Percy and he is the sweetest guy in the world. When we first met, he stopped a bus for me. I didn't even know him and he stopped a bus for me. He… he make makes me so happy. And he's such a goofball." I smiled when I thought about all the times Percy did something or said something dumb. Mrs. Crawford grinned. "You really like this guy."

I bit my lip. "Yeah… I do." I took a deep breath as Mrs. Crawford looked at me. "You look… troubled. Did something happen between you two?" I shook my head and took a sip of my, now cold, coffee. "No. I just," Should I tell her? I mean this is Mrs. Crawford. If I could tell anyone anything, it would be Mrs. Crawford. She was like my second mom. I gulped and started.

"I-I think I l-love him." Mrs. Crawford let out a low whistle. "Wow… and how long have you know each other?"

"About a month." She nodded and stayed quiet. I took a deep breath. I wasn't sure if these feeling were real but they felt real to me. I've been in love before so I knew how it felt. Or at least I thought. When I was with Luke, I was happy. And whenever we weren't together, I was fine. But when I'm with Percy, I'm ecstatic. And when I'm not with him, I'm sorta depressed. I stay quiet all day until I'm with him. I can be myself around him. Not like Luke. He made me be someone I wasn't.

I finished my coffee and stood up. "Maybe you should tell him." Mrs. Crawford muttered to me. My eyes widened. "No. That's a really bad idea. What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"Annie. If you really think he's the one for you, then it doesn't matter what he thinks." I frowned. She sighed when she noticed my confusion. "Look, what I'm trying to say is…" She stood up and put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "Don't think, just do."

{Page Break}

_Don't think, just do._

_Don't think, just do._

Those words echoed in my head as I continued to walk the city. I had left the Alley at about 5:00. Mrs. Crawford and I talked about Percy and what I should do about my feelings for him. I decided I will tell Percy in my own time. I walked wherever my feet took me and before I knew it, I was in Percy's neighborhood. It wouldn't hurt to pay a surprise visit. I also want to know if he got the job. As I got closer and closer to Percy's house, I decided to call him. I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed Percy's phone.

After a couple rings, he answered. "Hey Annabeth." He said. I smiled. "Hey Percy. How did your interview go?" I asked curiously. "What interview?" He questioned. I chuckled. Typical Percy. "You know the interview you left for." He paused for a moment before saying. "Oh, I d-didn't get the job." I frowned. "Aww, I'm sorry. Better luck next time. Hey look at the bright side." I stayed quiet, trying to think of a bright side. "Um, what bright side?" He asked. I laughed as I walked into Percy's street. "I'm sorry Percy, I don't think there is a bright side." We stayed quiet for a while. I was getting closer to his house. I broke the silence by saying,

"Hey, why don't I come over? We could watch re-runs of Spongebob?" I really missed him so it didn't matter what we did. I just wanted to spend time with him. "Um, sure." I giggled, which I don't do very often, and walked right up to his door. "Open your door." I rang the doorbell and hung up the phone. I smiled to myself as I waited for Percy to open the door. I heard the door click and then it opened. But instead of seeing Percy, I saw a girl. I scowled at her. "Who are you?" She smiled, which made me more pissed. "I'm Rachel. Who are you?" I hate her name. Well, I probably wouldn't have liked her name no matter what but I still hated it.

I heard footsteps coming from the stairs and then Percy appeared out of nowhere. He ran next to her and put an arm around her. Oh gods… that hurt. "Annabeth! Hey! How's it going?" He said in a cheery voice. He kept at his arm around her. His arm was supposed to be around _me_, not her. He must have noticed I was glaring at his arm around her because he removed it. Rachel seem to come to conclusion of what was going on and said, "Oh…" Percy mimicked her. "Oh…"

She looked at me. "I'm, uh, going to go now. See you later." Rachel walked past me and left. I kept quiet. Percy was still standing there. He opened the door a little wider.

"Wanna come in?" He asked. I walked in, still not saying anything. More anger filled me as I thought about Rachel. They better not have been doing what I think they were doing. I heard him close the door and then something in me just… snapped.

"Who was she?" Oh and he had the nerve to smile. "A friend?" He didn't sound too confident in his answer. I got up in his face. Anger rising higher and higher. "Who. Was. She?" I demanded. He scoffed, somewhat softly. He looked like he was confused. "Annabeth, I already told you she's just a friend-"

He was interrupted by a door opening. I looked at the person. Percy looked terrified for some reason. "Oh! Well, hello there. You must be a friend of Percy. Sorry for startling you. I just got back from work." I softened felt my face soften at the sight of the lady. She must be his mom. As adorable I thought it was that Percy still lived with his mom, I was still mad. "Hey mom. Um, Annabeth and I are going upstairs. I'll talk to you later." His voiced cracked. That only happens when he's nervous or scared. His mom just frowned with a smile and shook her head before walking off. He grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs.

He took me into his room. I was too mad to notice the details of his room. "A-Annabeth! That wasn't what it looked like. My mom was just visiting, like she does sometimes. She doesn't live here! I-I don't live with my mom!" He reassured. I cut him off by carrying on the argument we were having earlier. "Percy, its fine if you live with your mother but what I wanna know is who was that girl?" He looked like he was getting annoyed but I didn't care. I hated not knowing things.

"Annabeth. Why? Why do you want to know so much? I already told you she's just a friend. I-I met her at Starbucks. I went there after the interview." I scowled. He was never a good liar. "You don't just take a stranger home with you after meeting them in a Starbucks." I hated this. An interview doesn't take 5 hours. And no one stays at a Starbucks for over an hour. They must've been here all day! I felt tears threating to spill. Just the thought of Percy being with another girl, hurt.

"I knew her from high school." He said raising his voice. "You just said you met her at Starbucks." Gods, why does everyone lie to me? I knew Percy was hiding something from me, but I had hoped it wasn't that he was seeing someone else. I sighed. "Percy, I feel like you're hiding something." He gritted his teeth together, probably because he was getting angry. "Like, _I'm _hiding something? Annabeth, you're the one overreacting about this! Maybe you're the one hiding something!" He yelled. I let the tears fall down my face. I brushed some out of my face furiously.

"Yes, Percy. Maybe I am hiding something." I took a deep breath. No, I wasn't ready. I can't tell him now. I tried calming myself down but I couldn't. He raised his eyebrows. He looked so confused. I chuckled humorlessly. "Percy, the reason I'm overreacting is because I'm jealous." Gods, I can't confess now. "What? Why?" I rolled my eyes. Gods, he was so dull sometimes. "You know why." He sighed and walked closer to me. He grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. A lot of people have been doing that lately. "Annabeth? Why?"

Oh gods, I wasn't prepared for this. If I could just keep my big mouth shut, then I wouldn't have to tell him. I tried to think of a lie to tell him but I drew a blank. I have to tell him. Time to suck it up and confess. I made sure I stopped crying.

_Don't think, just do._

I squeezed his hands before saying.

"Percy, I love you."

Percy's POV:

_I love you too._

_I love you too._

_I love you too._

Come on Percy! Say it! Why can't I say it?! I opened my mouth to say it but nothing came out. She looked hurt when I didn't say it back. She frowned and looked down. I tried to choke out the word but once again nothing came out. She pulled her hands out of mine. "I knew I shouldn't have told you." She looked up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I stood there in shock. She was crying again. She sniffed and laughed. "I'm sorry. I should've know you didn't feel the same as me. I'm just going to let myself out." She walked out of the room. I still stood there. Shocked. It wasn't until I heard the front door slammed shut, when I snapped out of it. I looked around.

I would've ran after her if she hadn't left already. I sat down on my bed and put my head in my hands. Why didn't you say it back?! I growled and started pulling my hair. I can't just let her leave! I love her too! She has to know that! I stood up and ran down the stairs. I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door. I heard my mom calling for me but I kept running. Where is she? I ran down my street, searching for blond hair and gray eyes. I finally spotted her. She still running away from me. "Annabeth!" I called out. She looked behind her but didn't stop. Instead she just ran faster.

I doubled my running speed and sprinted after her. She turned the corner. I was about 10 yards from her. But when I turned the corner, she was already gone.

I stopped running and bent down, trying to catch my breath. All that was going through my head was:

_What just happened?_

**Hey! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry I haven't been updating that frequently. And sorry this was kind of a bad ending but don't worry! I'm trying to fix my habits. And yes, once again, another cliffhanger.**

**Don't forget to vote!**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	6. Chapter 6

**Do you hate me? You should. The last two chapters were cliffhangers and then I don't update for over a month. Well, I have a good reason. My charger broke and I couldn't charge my laptop. Sorry. Anyway, the poll is still going on so go vote. And I'm going to keep the poll thing going until June 1st. Since it has been a while since I've updated and you guys probably don't remember anything, I'll inform you. **

**Percy Jackson: 17 years old. Really loves Annabeth Chase but choked when she said she loves him. Best friend is Nico Di Angelo. Other friends are Beck and Leo. Lead singer for their band called the Demigods.**

**Annabeth Chase: 22 years old. Loves Percy Jackson. Confessed her love for him but he didn't say anything thing back. She cried and ran away from Percy (Last Chapter).**

**Leo Valdez: 17 years old. Plays the electric guitar in the band. Half-brother of Beck.**

**Nico Di Angelo: 17 years old. Plays the bass guitar in the band. Has a huge crush on Thalia Grace.**

**Charles Beckendorf (AKA Beck): 17 years old. Plays the drums in the band. Half-brother of Leo.**

**Enjoy.**

**Should Annabeth Be A Musician?:**

**Yes-6**

**No-4**

**Favorite Animal: Owl**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 6: It's All About The Little Things

Percy's POV:

Letting out a deep breath, I got out of the car and walked to the hood of Beck's car. I placed my guitar on the hood and bend down to pick up a stray pebble off of the grass. I threw it at her window. A soft thud was heard as the grey pebble hit her window. A light was turned on and the brown curtains were pulled back. There she was. Her eyes were puffy. I couldn't help but feel guilty about that. She was wearing a grey cardigan with a white shirt and some short-shorts. She looked beautiful. As soon as she saw me, she almost went back into her apartment. I called out to her. "Wait. No. Please just hear me out!" She hesitated before leaning onto the rail of her patio.

"What do you want Percy?" I missed her voice. "I just want to apologize for what happened the other day. Plus, since you left, I didn't get the chance to tell you how _I _felt." I gave her a grin. Her face remained expressionless. I gulped and hefted myself up onto the truck's hood. I grabbed my guitar and tuned it. I cursed at myself for not tuning it earlier. My hands shook as they hovered over the stings. I cleared my throat and looked at Annabeth, straight in the eye. Well, here goes nothing.

Earlier that day:

"You want me to do what?" I asked in a shocked manner. Leo sighed through his nose and told me the plan again. I had told them about what had happened between Annabeth and I a couple days ago and we were barely coming up with a plan. Annabeth confessed her love for me on Monday. Today was Friday. "I want you to serenade her." I scoffed. "What is this, the 50's?" I think I said that too loud because the librarian shushed us. We were in the library. Beck was doing his homework while listening to the conversation. Nico was writing in his songbook and tuning out what we were saying. Leo was, well, talking to me.

"It's not a bad idea." Beck said while putting his stuff up and into his backpack. I thought about it. I _was_ more confident when I was singing. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Then I thought about the downside. "Wait, I don't even have a song to sing her." Leo thought for a little while before looking at Nico. Beck and I looked at his too. Nico scribbling away on his songbook, occasionally muttering to himself saying, "No that won't work." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uh, Nick? You good?" I asked. He kept writing. I tried to look at what he was writing before suddenly gasping and standing up. "I got it!" He yelled. The librarian shushed Nico before continuing to type away in her computer.

"What did you get?" Leo questioned. Nico smiled like a child and giggled. "I wrote a song!" He whisper-yelled. I smiled at him. "Good for you," I looked at Leo. "At least _someone _has a song." Leo suddenly got an idea. Seems like everyone except me is getting an idea. Nico sat back down and looked over his song, muttering the lyrics. "Nico. How long did it take to write the song?" He looked up from his songbook and said, "About an hour." My eyes widened. It usually takes me 8 hours. "Sing the song." I demanded. I wanted to know if it was good or not. Nico blushed and shook his head. "Why not?" I asked. Nico stammered some excuse and closed his songbook. Leo looked at Nico with pleading eyes. "Please? We need to know if you can write a good song because if its good and you wrote it in an hour then you could be a big help." Nico thought about it but I could he still wasn't convinced.

I tried to convince him. He was my best friend, so I knew if there was anybody he cared about, it would be me. "Nico. Please. This could help me get Annabeth back." He took the bait and took his book out. He flipped to the page his song was on and said, "Fine but I'm only singing the chorus." He took a deep breath and began the chorus.

**(Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol)**

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget world?_

_Forget what we're told_

_Before we get too old_

_Show me a garden that's bursting into life_

Nico had his eyes closed while he was singing so he opened his eyes when he finished. I grinned. He. Was. A Freaking. GENIUS! The librarian let out a sob and clapped. "Bravo! Bravo!" We chuckled. "Why didn't you want to sing that song? It was great." Beck asked. "Because I wrote it for someone." I raised my eyebrows. "Who?" Nico blushed and gulped before answering. "Thalia." We all started cheering him on. But we were only shushed by the librarian who now controlled her sobbing. I scowled at her. We were the only ones in the whole library. I don't understand why she was shushing us.

"Hey Percy, I think I found to your prayers." He gestured to Nico. I looked at Nico. "So will you help me get Annabeth back?" Nico nodded. I silently cheered in my head because I felt like if I cheered out loud I would only be quieted by the librarian. "The library is only opened for 2 hours after school and we've been here for an hour and a half so I think we need to write the song at Percy's house." Beck advised. We all nodded and gathered our stuff. We were just about to walk out of the library before I heard someone say, "Percy!" I turned around and saw Rachel running to catch up with me.

I grinned at her. "Hey Rachel. I didn't know you were here." She smiled breathlessly and said, "Hey. Can we talk?" I looked back at the guys who were waiting for me at the doors of the library and staring intently at Rachel. "Uh, guys? Can you all wait for me by the car?" They mumbled, "Yeah." And walked out of the library. I turned back to Rachel who was smiling at me. I grinned at her and said, "So, uh, what do you want to talk about?"

"The project. When are we going to meet again? Remember the project is due next week." I groaned. I rubbed my face. "Oh my gods. I'm sorry. I've just been really busy and I really want to get a good grade on this so do you wa-" I was cut off by a pair of lips. Not just any lips. Rachel's lips. I stood there in shock. Once she pulled away, she smiled at me in a very creepily way. "Uh, what was that for?" She giggled. "Look, Percy. I've liked you for a while and I was wondering if, you know, would go out with me?" I felt bad. Like really bad. I sighed sadly. "Look, Rachel. I-I like you." She looked excited. "But not like that. It's just that… I'm in love with someone else." Her smile faltered and her eyes started to water. "Oh." Her voice cracked.

Oh no. "I'm so sorry Rachel. Please forgive me. I-I…" I tried to hug her but she kept backing away from me. I reached out to her arm. "Rachel…" She backed up. "No." She ran away crying. Wow… Aren't I just _fantastic_ with girls?

{Page Break}

"Uh, hello? Earth to Percy? You in there bud?" Beck asked as he waved his hand in front of me. I blinked and returned back to reality. "Oh, sorry."

"Dude. What happened?" We were back at my house in my room, trying to create my song but I was too unfocused to actually help Nico write me a song. I gulped down the lump in my throat. I fiddled with a loose seam root on my blanket and replied with, "Why do I keep breaking girls' heart?" Beck, who was sitting next to me on the bed, grinned sadly at me. "Rachel?" I nodded and kept messing with the seam root.

"Hey man. Don't worry about her. She'll get over it." Beck tried to comfort me. "Yeah but I can't help but feel guilty for hurting these girls." Nico got up from the desk and kneeled down in front of me. "You can fix one of the girls heart. But I'm going to need your help with that. So please. Help me help you make a song for Annabeth." I grinned. "Ok." I said softly. He let out a soft laugh and sat back down at my desk. Leo let out a curse as he lost yet another game of Call Of Duty. I laughed a little and averted my attention to Nico.

"Ok so tell about Annabeth."

{Page Break}

It only took us a couple of hours to write the song.

Nico muttered the lyrics as I went to the bathroom in my room to get ready for my serenade. I looked at my appearance in the mirror. I wore my brown leather jacket with a white shirt, some khaki jeans and my brown converse. I leaned on the sink and sighed. I silently prayed to every god that this would go well. I turned on the sink and brushed my teeth. I attempted to brush my hair but failed. I just settled with putting gel in it. I walked back into my room and heard Beck say, "Wow. You know it's serious when he does his hair." I let out a soft laugh and got my guitar from the stand by my bed.

"Okay. I read it over and it's probably one of the best love songs I've ever written." Leo looked over at us from my TV. "Meaning you've written other love songs?" Beck and I laughed as Nico blushed and threw my pillow at him. Leo just dodged it and continued playing Call of Duty with Beck. Nico ripped the paper with the song on it out of his songbook and gave it to me. "Here."

Beck stopped playing and got up. He walked over to me with his truck keys in his hand. "Try not to hurt my baby." I smiled and took the keys from him. "I thought Silena was your baby." He blushed and went to play with Leo again. Nico walked me out of my house. "Take care of my mom and Tyson while I'm gone, ok?" Nico nodded and patted my shoulder. "Try not to get caught for driving without a license please?" A chill went through me. "Yeah. Don't remind me about that." I turned around to Beck's truck but Nico called out to me, "Dude?"

I looked back at him. He was now at the front porch and I was at the side of the truck. "Yeah?" He turned serious for a second. "Remember, if anything goes wrong, we're still here for you." I smiled and began to open the driver side door. "No need to get all sappy Nick. But on a serious note, I appreciate you guys. You've all helped me when I need it and now you're all willing giving me away to a girl who I could possibly spend the rest of my life with and keep me from spending time with you all." I said while getting into the car. Nico laughed and waved. "Good luck, kelp head." I grinned as he recalled my old nickname that he used to call me in elementary.

"See ya, Death Breath." I closed the door and started the car. I took a deep breath and drove off to make amends with Annabeth. Let's hope this goes well.

{Page Break}

"What do you want Percy?" I missed her voice. "I just want to apologize for what happened the other day. Plus, since you left, I didn't get the chance to tell you how _I _felt." I gave her a grin. Her face remained expressionless. I gulped and hefted myself up onto the truck's hood. I grabbed my guitar and tuned it. I cursed at myself for not tuning it earlier. My hands shook as they hovered over the stings. I cleared my throat and looked at Annabeth, straight in the eye. Well, here goes nothing.

**(Little Things by One Direction)**

_Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me_

_But bear this in mind, it was meant to be_

_And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks_

_And it all makes sense to me…_

I took a very small instrumental break. I saw Annabeth's face change just a fraction of an inch. I took that as hope that she was accepting the song and continued into the next verse.

_I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile_

_You've never loved your stomach or your thighs,_

_The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine_

_But I'll love them endlessly_

_I won't let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_But if I do_

_It's you_

_Oh it's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

I took another instrumental break. My heart was thumping out of my chest when I sang the "I'm in love with you" part. But Annabeth's eyes lit up and I think I even saw her smile a little. That kinda made up for it.

_You can't go to bed without a cup of tea_

_And maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep_

_And all those conversations are the secrets that I keep_

_Though it makes no sense to me_

_I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape_

_You never want to know how much you weigh,_

_You still have to squeeze into your jeans_

_But you're perfect to me_

_I won't let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you_

_It's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

Annabeth was full on smiling at this point. But I wasn't finish with the song. She needed to hear every little bit of it.

_You'll never love yourself half as much as_

_I love you_

_And you'll never treat yourself right darlin'_

_But I want you to_

_If I let you know I'm here for you_

_Maybe you'll love yourself like_

_I love you_

_I've just let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_'__Cause it's you_

_Oh it's you_

_It's you they add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things_

_I won't let these little things_

_Slip out my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you_

_It's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all your little things_

Once I finished, I put my guitar to the side and slipped of the hood. I dusted off my clothes and walked closer to Annabeth's patio. It wasn't that high off the ground so I didn't have to yell for her to hear me. Annabeth was smiling at me. Good, that's a good sign. I clasped my hands together. "So… Do you still love me? Or is it too late?" She went back into her apartment and closed the patio door. Oh, well that went bad. I frowned and backed up to get a better view of her patio. The light was turned off. I felt bad. "Oh no." I muttered. I ran to the front of the building and reached out to open the door but someone beat me to it and ran into me. I backed up to see who I ran into.

Annabeth.

I grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. "Annabeth. Oh gods. I thought you left. I was about t-" I was cut off by a pair of lips. This time it was a pair of lips that I longed for. Annabeth's. Our lips moved in sync. I pulled her closer to me as she put her hands in my hair. I smiled in the kiss at the feeling of Annabeth softly tugging at my hair. We pulled away when we needed to breathe. I smiled goofily and hugged Annabeth. "I'm so sorry about what I did on Monday. I love you and I should've told you that in the first place." Annabeth let out a laugh. I missed her laugh. She kissed me again. "Percy?" She asked.

"Yeah." She pulled away and smacked me. Wait, what? "OW! What the hell was that for?" I said while rubbing my cheek. She squinted at me. "You know why." Oh, yeah.

I sighed. "Ok. I deserved that." She grinned and hugged me. We stayed there, in each other's arms. "Percy? Can you promise me something?" I looked at her. She rested her chin on my chest and looked up at me. "What?"

"Don't leave me. Please. I used to know someone who left me for someone else and I was really hurt. So please promise me you won't do that." I was surprised someone would do that to Annabeth. She was such an amazing person that I didn't really think that anyone would ever hurt her. I kissed her nose and said,

"I promise."

{Page Break}

Nico's POV (Quick):

"Leo! Give me my songbook!" I chased him around Percy's room and threw pillows at him. Leo flipped to a random page as I was chasing him and read it out loud. "Oh what's this here? "All that I am, all that I ever was, is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see." Wow, who knew how much of a sap Nico could be." He stopped in just enough time for me to tackle him. "Oomf!" He fell to the ground along with the songbook. I picked it up and hugged it like it was my baby. Leo was about to complain about how his butt hurts because he fell on a book but he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

We all looked at the door and saw Percy walk in with glazed look in his eyes. Beck got up from the bed and walked up to Percy. "What happened?" Percy smiled goofily. Leo got up and waved his hands in front of Percy's face. "Uh, Perce?" Percy shook out of his shock. "Oh. Hey guys." Percy put his guitar in the stand.

Percy's POV:

I walked pass Nico and collapsed on my bed. "Uh, okay." I heard Nico say. Leo spoke up. "Okay if no one is going to ask then I will. Percy, did she say she loved you or not?" I grinned and nodded. Their faces lit up. "Congrats!" They all said. I smiled.

The rest of the night consisted of playing games and talking about what happened with Annabeth.

In the morning, the guys left my house. "Bye guys!" I waved at them and closed the door. I went to my couch and sat down. I let out a deep sigh and took out my phone. I texted Annabeth.

**Morning, beautiful ;) –Percy**

I knew it was sappy but I felt like texting her a morning text. Not before long, a text was sent back.

**Good morning. I was wondering, since I'm off today, if you wanted to go somewhere? –Annabeth**

I smiled and texted her back.

**Like on a date? ;) –Percy**

**Sure ;D –Annabeth**

I laughed and typed back a place where we could meet and turned my phone off. My mom came downstairs after a while of me staring of into space. She yawned and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing." I said with a big smile.

Let's just say everything was all right in the world at that particular moment. Well, almost everything. There's still Rachel but besides that, I was completely fine.

Little did I know that, that wasn't going to last for long.

**ANNOUNCEMENT:**

**I made a twitter account. An account for my fanfiction account. It's going to be used as a news account so if my charger breaks again or if there's going to be a delay on the next chapter, I can tweet you guys about. If you want to follow me, just go to my profile bio and the link to my account should be there. Once you follow me, send me a message that you read Eightteen. I'll have my DM's open. If you don't know how to go on my bio, then search on twitter for CGreek300. K, thanks.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and again I am so sorry that it took me so long to upload it.**

**The next chapter will be percabeth's first date and then I might skip until Christmas break. I don't know I'm still trying to figure that out. Oh and sorry if there's any mistakes. I didn't have enough time to re-read.**

**Ok, well, see you.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there! Welcome back! Since summer is coming up and I finally have a charger for my laptop, I'm going to be posting more frequently. Sorry about last chapter, it wasn't my best. The voting is still going on so go vote (Ends June 1st). I ran out of things to put for my favorites so I'm going to put songs stuck in my head. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: All Around Me by Flyleaf**

**Should Annabeth Be A Musician?:**

**Yes- 5**

**No- 6**

**(I messed up on counting the vote's last chapter. These are the real number of votes.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 7: Past and Present

Percy's POV:

I had the perfect idea for Annabeth and I date. A picnic. I know. "But Percy, isn't that too old fashioned?" Well, my friends. It is not. Picnicking is still very much in. I had told Annabeth to meet me at Central Park at 7:00. I grabbed a picnic basket from the shelf and went to go meet up with the guys who were hanging out in the seasonal section. Where held all the candy and toys. I turned into the aisle to see my friends, fighting each other with swim noodles. Nico was the referee while Leo and Beck fought each other. People who passed by just looked at them and shook their heads like we were crazy before continuing to go grocery shopping.

I laughed as Beck accidently hit Nico with the noodle and Nico grabbed the noodle from him and started hitting him repeatedly with it. I ran up to them and tried to calm them down. "Guys! Guys! Calm down! This is a store!" Nico stopped hitting him and looked at me with a crazy look in his eye. "But he hit me!"

"On accident!" Beck tried to defend himself. I put the basket down and took the noodle from Nico and Leo before putting them into their rightful place. Beck recovered from his beating from Nico and asked, "So, did you get the thing you wanted?" I nodded and picked up the basket from the ground and lifted it up to show them. It was a big basket, made out of brown wicker wood and had enough space to fit a small baby in it. Not that I would ever put a baby in it… Anyway, moving on.

"Ok, let's go guys." I motioned for them to follow me. I led them to the meat aisle. I picked up some white turkey and some cheese. In the corner of my eye, I spotted Nico and Leo pick up a stick of salami and started sparing with it. I chuckled at them and shook my head. Good thing, there wasn't that many people here. I continued picking out a bunch of things for the picnic. Annabeth once told me that her favorite fruit was watermelon so I got her some cut up pieces of watermelon. I looked over everything I got in the basket (I was too lazy to go get a shopping cart so I just used the picnic basket). Okay, turkey, check. Watermelon, check. Cheese, check. Ham, check. Bread, check. Mayonnaise, check. Strawberries dipped in chocolate, check. Jell-O, check. (I know. The food is weird but that's all I could think of).

I picked up the now heavy picnic basket and dragged it to the guys. "Okay. I got everything. Let's go." Leo and Nico put the salami away and followed Beck and I to the check-out aisle.

I asked my mom to make the sandwiches for me (What? I'm not good at making sandwiches!). I told my mom that I got with Annabeth, earlier this morning. She was excited for me and then she got serious and told me not to break her heart. I kept quiet. I still my secret to tell but I don't think I was going to tell her or Annabeth the secret anytime soon. I changed into a grey tank top with an unbuttoned red flannel shirt over it along with grey jeans and my red converse. I checked the clock by my bed. 6:45. I cursed and ran downstairs. The basket was resting on the dining table. My mom was nowhere to be found. I promised myself to thank my mom later. I grabbed the basket and headed out the door.

I had only 15 minutes to get to the park. I speed-walked the whole time. I got there just on time. I walked to the special spot that I had picked out for the picnic and put the basket on the ground. I sat down on the grass and waited for Annabeth to get here.

Annabeth's POV:

Honestly, Percy and I getting together was the best thing all week. A bunch of little things had been happening that seemed to make my week even worse than it was. Like for instance, I dropped coffee on myself. I forgot to pay for the electricity bill so my lights went out. Then my car broke down. Then, to top it all off, my mom told me not to come back to work until I stopped seeing Percy. So basically, I was fired. I rushed to get ready for the date Percy had asked me on. I didn't know if it was a casual date or a fancy date so I ended up just wearing a light blue sundress with my dark blue converse. Along with my charm bracelet and my diamond earrings. I grabbed my grey string purse and ran out of my apartment.

I wasn't too far from Central Park. So it only took me about 15 minutes to get there. Unfortunately, I got there at 7:05. 5 minutes late. I called Percy. He answered immediately. "Hey Annabeth. Um, where are you? Are you ok?" I smiled at his concern. "I'm fine Percy. I was just wondering where you were." I heard shuffling around. "Uh, hold on a second." I waited. Then the line went dead. I frowned. All of a sudden, a pair of hands wrapped around my waist. "Hey." Someone whispered in my ear. I already knew who it was. "Hello Percy." He kissed my neck. "You look beautiful." I gasped. He stiffened. "What's wrong?"

"No one's ever called me beautiful." Well, he has called me beautiful before but that was on text. I liked it better when he called me beautiful in real life. He smiled sadly. "I don't understand why. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." I turned around to face him. "Thank you." I kissed him. It wasn't heated or anything. It was a nice and sweet kiss. "Okay, let's go eat. Before someone steals the food." I laughed and let him drag me to where the basket was. He had the basket under the tree, providing enough shade from the sun. He sat down and gently pushed me down next to him. He kissed my hand and let go to get the food out of the basket. "A picnic?" I asked with a smile. He nodded and pulled out a plastic container. He opened it to reveal two sandwiches. He picked one up and handed me the container. "For my lady." He said in a fake British accent. I laughed and took it from him. "Why thank you, kind sir." He laughed at my horrible impression of a British accent. I took a bite out of the sandwich and discovered that it was a ham and turkey sandwich with cheese and mayonnaise. My favorite sandwich. I was thankful he knew my favorite sandwich.

Once we finished, he then pulled out the greatest gift to man-kind, watermelon. He must've seen my awestruck expression because he laughed. I smiled at him. He pulled out a fork and gave me the whole thing. "You don't want any?" He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not really a fan of watermelon." I let out an exaggerated gasp. "Who are you?!" I yelled. He laughed, soon I joined him. Once I finished laughing, I opened the small container of the watermelon and dug in. He took out a small container of Jell-O and ate that. I put the last watermelon piece on my fork and put it towards Percy's mouth. "Try it." I said with a little bit of watermelon in my mouth. He shook his head and pursed his lips, like a stubborn toddler. I pushed it against his mouth. "Try it." I pleaded him. He kept being stubborn. I suppressed a smile and continued to plead with him. "Please?" His eyes softened for a bit before going back to being stubborn. I hit him with my final weapon. "Try it. Or I won't kiss you for the rest of the date." His eyes widened and then he ate the watermelon in a blink of an eye. I laughed. Soon Percy finished and he smiled. "That wasn't as bad as I thought."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. He went back into the basket (Not literally). He then pulled out dessert. My favorite dessert, to be exact. Strawberries covered in chocolate. I put my hand on my stomach. "Jeez Percy, are you trying to stuff me?" I said with a smile. He chuckled and opened the container. He picked one up and fed it to me (Romantic, I know). I laughed at Percy for being cliché. I returned the gesture and fed him a strawberry. "Thanks." He said as he chewed his strawberry. I grinned at him and looked up at the sky. "Looks like it's going to rain." Percy intervened. It was true. Murky grey clouds formed up ahead. "Uh… should we get going?" I questioned. "Yeah we sho-"

_Ding!_

Percy looked at his phone. It dinged again.

_Ding!_

Then again and again and again.

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_

He looked at me, as if he was asking for permission to check his phone. I nodded. He grabbed his phone and scrolled through the many texts he got. "Who are they from?"

"The guys. They keep saying for me to call them." Thunder rumbled above. "Call them." He looked up at me like I was insane. "But, today is about you and me. Not the guys, you, and me." I nodded. "I know but they seem really eager to get your attention." His phone dinged five more times, proving my point. He sighed and put in the password for his phone. He called Nico and put it on speaker. "Wonder what's wrong." He muttered quietly. He scooted closer to me and held the phone in between us. After 2 rings, Nico answered. "Percy!"

"Hey Nico. Um, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, first I need to apologize. Sorry for disrupting your date but this is important. Like really important."

"Okay, is Annabeth there with you?" Percy nodded. But then he blushed when he realized that Nico couldn't see him and said, "Yeah." I smiled at him, trying to contain my laughter. Instead, I kissed him on the cheek. "Alright, that's good. Can you put me on speaker so I can say hi?"

"You're already on speaker."

"Oh, hey Annabeth."

"Hey Nico." I said. "Now, are you guys ready for the news?" Percy frowned. "What news?" He asked. "The news I'm about to give you. Are you ready?" Nico said in an excited voice. "Yes, now tell us."

"Okay, well. Earlier today we got a call from Hard Rock and… you'll never guess. They gave us another gig!" A smile broke out on both of our faces. "Oh my gods! That's great! It took them too long!" Percy said loudly. "Yeah they said they lost our number when we gave it to them last time we were there. But they found it and now were doing another gig there!" I chuckled. Percy smiled widely at me. "That's cool. Anyway, we're going to go and continue our date. I'll talk to you later, okay?" I heard Leo in the back say, "Don't forget to 'get some' Percy!" We both blushed as they all laughed. "Shut up Leo." Percy said before he hung up. Percy looked over at me and grinned. Before I knew it, he tackled me and kissed me. "Mmm." I said into the kiss. He pulled away. "Sorry for attacking you," He pushed a strand of hair behind my hair as he moved his elbows to support him from falling. "I just needed to do that." I furrowed my eyebrows. Once he noticed my confusion he said, "Because you're the one who got us a gig in the first place. You're the one who's actually got us somewhere… And I really just wanted to kiss you." I smiled up at him. I put my hands in his hair and softly tugged at it. He closed his eyes and softly smiled. I grinned and leaned up to kiss him again.

After a while of Percy and I cuddling in the grass, thunder rumbled from above once again. "We should leave." Percy said. Lightning struck miles away and was followed by deafening thunder. I jumped as Percy wrapped his arms around me tighter. "Yeah, we really should get going." Percy let go of me, much to my dismay, and got up. He dusted off his pants and held out a hand to help me up. Once we gathered our food, he grabbed my hand and the basket. He looked disappointed that we had to leave. I looked up at the sky. It wasn't drizzling. At least not yet. Maybe we still have a little time…

"Why don't we walk around the park for a bit? You know and just talk." I suggested. His eyes lit up with happiness. "Yeah. That's sounds great." He intertwined our fingers as we walked around the park. **(A/N: I don't live in New York, nor have I ever been to Central Park so I'm just going to describe the trees and people and stuff. P.S. I'm not good at describing stuff.)**

The park was beautiful **(A/N: I'm assuming). **The tall trees were a healthy green and the grass was cut to the perfect length. Couples were leaving due to the fact that it was going to rain. Some people stayed though. We got to the bridge and rested against the edge. I breathed in the fresh air of grass and, strangely, hot dogs. It still smelled good. Percy put the basket down by his feet and leaned against the edge next to me. We were still holding hands. We stayed quiet, just enjoying each other's presence. I looked out at the river. It was a murky green yet it still managed to look pretty in the gloomy afternoon. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Percy said suddenly. I looked away from a fish I had spotted and looked at him. "Sure. What is it?"

He looked nervous. "I-It's been bugging me all day and I just needed to ask." He went silent. I frowned and looked at him with concern. "Percy, what's wrong?" I squeezed his hand. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Percy?" He let out a sigh. "Please don't get mad. I could tell it was a hard subject for you to talk about but I just need- no wait. I want to know. You don't have to tell me."

"What is it Percy?" He took a deep breath. "What happened with your last relationship?" I bit my lip to try to keep from remembering the bad memories. "You don't have to tell me." He reminded. I shook my head and squeezed his hand. "N-No it's okay. I'll… I'll just tell you." I took a moment to get ready. Taking a deep breath, I said my story.

"It all started about 4 years ago. His name was Luke. We met in a bathroom. I mean not _inside _the bathroom, no. Luke and I went to the bathroom at the same time and we saw each other. Not exactly the best place to meet someone…" Percy smirked, "Well, we met in a bus, so I'm not really going to judge you about it." I suppressed a laugh from coming out. I continued the story. "Anyway, we dated for a while. 4 years to be exact." I paused for a moment and got ready to tell him about the bad part of the story. "He cheated on me." Percy clenched his jaw, as if the idea of someone hurting me made him angry. I dismissed it and continued with the story. "He had given me a key to his apartment so I was allowed to get into his apartment. Too bad I wasn't allowed that privilege on our 3rd year anniversary when I found him and… _that girl_."

_*Flashback*_

_I decided to pay a visit to my boyfriend, Luke Castellan. Today was our 3 year anniversary. He and I were too busy to hang out today. That may sound sad to many people but we both had finals coming up and we needed to study. I was still in shock that Luke and I had been dating for 3 years. I thought today was the day. The day I said I love you to Luke. I opened the door to his apartment. I closed the door and put the key back into my pocket._

_"__Luke? Are you here?" I called out. I heard a couple of thumps and the sound of a door open. I walked towards Luke's room. I turned into the hallway that led to Luke's room. I saw Luke shutting the door to his room. He was shirtless with only jeans on and his hair was messed up a bit. He must've been sleeping. I looked over his appearance. He's so cute, I thought. "Hey! How's it going, babe?" He walked over to me and gave me a peck on the cheek._

_"__Hey. Happy anniversary." I gave him a hug. "Happy anniversary. Hey, why don't I go get dressed and we could go out to a nice fancy restaurant?" I smiled up at him. "Yeah, that sounds fantastic right-" I was interrupted by a very loud thump. As if a large book fell of a bookshelf. As far as I know, Luke doesn't have a bookshelf in his room. "What was that?" Luke got in my way when I tried to pass him. "That was nothing. Why don't you wait in the living room while I get dressed?" I was about to say something when there was yet another thump but this time it was followed by a curse. Someone was in there. I didn't wait for Luke to explain, I just pushed pass him and opened the door. "Annabeth wait!" Too late._

_I gasped. "Who the f**k are you?!" I yelled at the half-naked woman near Luke's bed. Luke ran into the room and tried to cover the woman. "Uh, Annabeth. I can explain." I was fuming. He was cheating on me! On our anniversary! I crossed my arms as the woman had the nerve to hug Luke from behind, as if that would hold me back from beating the living sh-_

_"__Annabeth. Please. Say something" I had realized that Luke was explaining to me what was going on. Doesn't matter. I saw what I saw. "How could you?" were the first words out of my mouth. Tears were brimming in my eyes. Luke told the woman to get out. I glared at her as she walked pass me. I turned my attention back to Luke. He tried to walk up to me but I just backed up. "Please Annabeth." I shook my head and looked at the ground. "Why?" Luke walked up to me. This time I let him. No matter how much I tried to hate him, I was still head over heels for him. He cupped my cheek. "I'm so sorry baby. Please, will you find it in your heart to forgive me?" I let the tears fall. He bit his lip as he watched me cry. I had enough. I pushed his hand off my cheek and walked out of the room._

_"__No please Annabeth!" I kept walking but I was soon stopped when he pulled me back by putting his arm around my waist. "Please Annabeth." I squirmed and tried to get out of his arms. But I just found myself melting in his arms instead. He held me close to him and kissed my cheek. "Please… I love you Annabeth. Please don't leave me." I gasped as he said those three words I had been longing to hear._

_*End Flashback*_

"I forgave him. Probably the biggest mistake of my life. He apparently told her that he had broken up with me, when he obviously didn't, and she found out. She found out my name and where I lived. She… She beat me up. She even gave me scar because of her ring." I pointed to the heart shaped scar. "I broke with him after that… I just can't believe he did that to me." I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Percy looked shocked then he looked sad. He pulled me close. I broke down in tears. I always hated recalling that moment. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here and I don't plan on cheating on you nor do I plan on leaving you. Please Annabeth. Don't cry. You know it hurts me to see you cry. I love you, Annabeth, please don't cry." Percy comforted.

After a while of me crying on Percy, I finally settled down. Percy was still holding me as I sniffed. "Are you okay?" I nodded slowly. He pulled back a little and looked down at me.

Percy's POV:

I really hated seeing Annabeth crying. But I hated this 'Luke' guy even more. How in Hades' could he do such a thing? I mean my secret is bad but I'm not physically hurting Annabeth. He just let that woman beat up Annabeth. I have to admit the heart scar looked awesome. But the story behind it was horrible. I kissed Annabeth's nose, which emitted a small smile. People passed by us, still rushing out of the park. The clouds were getting closer and the thunder was happening more frequently but it wasn't drizzling yet. "Excuse me?" I heard someone say. Annabeth and I looked behind me to see an elderly couple dressed in close from the 50's. Annabeth sniffed and smiled at them. "Uh, hi." She said, softly pushing off of me. Annabeth straightened her clothes as did I. "Hi. Do you mind if you take a picture of us by the fountain real quick, before it rains?" The woman's skin resembled of milk chocolate with cinnamon colored hair and golden eyes. The man was Chinese and had a buzz cut hairdo. I shook my head at the odd couple and took the camera from the couple. They walked over to the fountain, which was in the middle of the roundabout and next to the river. They posed as I took the picture.

Once they walked back, they looked at the photo. The elderly woman cooed. "Look Frank. Just like the one we took 70 years ago." My eyes widened, so did Annabeth's. "I'm sorry for asking but what do you mean '70 years ago'?" Frank looked up. "What Hazel means is that, well, 70 years ago, she and I went here for our first date. We took this picture at this exact same spot as we did today." He took out a Polaroid picture out of his wife's purse and gave it to me. The picture looked old and worn out but was still intact. On the picture was the same couple except 50 years younger. The picture was black and white. They stood in the same pose. The younger Hazel was leaning against Frank as she went on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. Whilst Frank had his arms crossed and was smiling at the camera.

"Would you like for us to take a picture of you guys? So you can try the tradition?" I looked up from the picture and blushed. I don't really think Annabeth and I are going to be together in 70 years after I tell her… my secret. But I didn't want to say no to the couple so we took the picture anyway. I gave him my phone and walked with Annabeth to the fountain. Thunder rumbled above us as I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close. She put her hand on my chest and looked up at me. I looked at her. I cupped her cheek and kissed her. For a moment, I didn't feel anything around us. Just me and her. I heard the camera click. I didn't pull away for a couple seconds. Once we stopped kissing, we held hands and walked over to the elderly couple that was cooing over us. Frank held out my phone. "Thank you." Annabeth and I said. "You're welcome. And you guys are so cute together!" Hazel commented. I smiled and put an arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "Thanks. I am pretty cute." I said smugly. Annabeth scoffed with a smile and softly hit my stomach. "Well, we better get going. You know before it starts raining." Annabeth advised. The elderly couple nodded. "Wait, we never got your names." Hazel said. "She's Annabeth and I'm Percy. Nice to meet you." Hazel smiled as Frank was staring at her lovingly.

"It was nice to meet you guys too. Hopefully, you remember to take the picture in 70 years." She said, getting ready to leave. "I'll put it in my calendar." I joked. We laughed. "Bye guys." Hazel and Frank said before leaving. I kissed Annabeth's cheek, grabbed the picnic basket and walked out of the park. Soon after we got out of the park, it started raining, hard. Annabeth squealed as the rain pelted our skin. She stole the basket from my hands and put above her head to block out the rain. Why didn't I think of that?! I was about to ask her to share with me but she ran off squealing. "Hey! Annabeth!" I yelled. "Oh geez!" I said as the rain came down impossibly harder. I couldn't see where Annabeth went. I ran in the direction I saw her go. "Annabeth?!" I called out. Thunder rumbled yet again and lightning struck a few miles away. "Annabeth!" I called out. I was getting worried. The rain was blinding me from seeing. I stopped and tried to look around for her. By now I was soaked and extremely worried. I started hyperventilating. "Anna-"

I was pulled into the indent of the building that was behind me. "Whoa!" I stumbled and ran into the wall. The ledge above me was covering the rain from getting to me. I looked at the culprit that pulled me into the indent. A wave of relief came over me. "Oh my gods, Annabeth. Don't do that! You just scared the crap out of me!" I hugged her. The picnic basket was off to the side. Poor leftovers. They were probably soaked in rain water. "Sorry but I had to get out of the rain." She said.

"Yeah but you could've ran with me." Annabeth laughed. "Well, it's not my fault you're slow." I shook my head and smiled at her. I looked out in the rain. Cars were rushing to get home and pretty much no one walking out here. "I think we're going to be stuck here for a while." I leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. "Yeah." Annabeth replied while leaning next to me. We were silent for a while, listening to the rain hit the ground. I looked at Annabeth. She had her eyes closed. As if she was resting. Her hair was wet but she still looked beautiful. Her sundress was soaked. Suddenly, I felt bad. She was probably freezing. She shivered. I frowned with concern. I got off the wall and hugged her. Sure my clothes were cold too but I knew that it would still make her warm. She hugged me back without opening her eyes.

"Thank you." She muttered. I picked up her chin. She opened her eyes just a centimeter. I didn't waste time to kiss her.

_And it was pretty much the best 'underwater' kiss of all time._

**The end.**

**Just kidding. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this… VERY long chapter. I hope this made up for the time I made you guys wait for a week longer than usual. The poll ends on Monday so get you votes in PRONTO. Next chapter will be the Demigods gig! And just a warning. Things are going to go down in a couple of chapters.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Welcome back! Voting has ended! I don't really have much to say so I'm just going to** **start the chapter. Enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: When You Get Home, You're So Dead by Mayday Parade**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 8: Escape

Percy's POV:

The rain wouldn't stop. It just kept coming down harder. I wouldn't be surprised if a hurricane was coming. Yup, that's how hard the rain was. Annabeth and I were still stuck under the ledge. Both of our phones had died so we couldn't call anyone to pick us up.

"Maybe we should just run for it!" Annabeth yelled over the rain. I pulled her closer as lightning struck. "Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not a good idea!" I racked my brain to get an idea. Annabeth looked around although it pretty hard to see. She spotted something and pointed towards it. "Percy! Look!" I looked at what she was pointing at. It was an abandoned diner that was named, "Pig Stand". It was kinda far but I think it was a risk we needed to take. I gripped Annabeth's hand and kissed her. "On the count of three, we run. But we have to stay together."

Annabeth looked scared. "As long as we're together." She said shakily. I gave her a reassuring smile. I got in my running stance, so did she. "One, two, three!"

We ran for it. The wind was powerful and the rain didn't help. I heard an alarm go off. The tornado alarm. "Oh shit." I muttered as I pulled Annabeth to the diner. We stopped in front of the diner and searched for an entrance. The front door was chained. "We need to find another way in!" I yelled. "And fast!" She advised as she looked up at the sky. The dark grey, almost black, clouds funneled overhead, scaring the crap out of me. I gripped Annabeth's hand a little harder and pulled her around the building. The side of the building was in an alley. I looked around for a window. Found one. I let go of her hand and searched for a rock.

I found one by the trash can. I picked up the big black rock and threw it at the window, emitting the satisfying crack of the window. I reached up and cleared some of the leftover glass, cursing as it gave me cuts. I looked at Annabeth, who was waiting for me, and said, "Come on! You first!" She looked like she wanted to protest but I picked her up by the waist and hefted her up to the window. She climbed in. I jumped up and grabbed the ledge. Using all my strength, I lifted myself up and into the diner. Annabeth held out her arms to help me get down. I got down and dusted off my pants. "Thanks." She nodded and looked at the window. "We need to cover that." I looked around for something. A big wooden plank laid on the counter along with a hammer and some nails. Well, that's convenient. I picked up the supplies and covered the window. I sighed and slumped down onto the floor. I tried to catch my breath. Annabeth walked over to me and sat next me. We just sat there, the tornado alarm and rain were the only noise in the room. I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Percy?" I looked at her. "Yeah?" She looked scared. Like really scared. I was scared too but I didn't want to show it for Annabeth's sake. "Hey, don't worry. We'll be okay." I gave her a side hug to reassure her. Lightning came down and this time it took the electricity. The street light outside, which was the only thing allowing us to see, went out. Now it was dark. Annabeth stiffened. "What's wrong?" I questioned. "I-I don't like the dark." I bit my lip. I felt so bad for her. She must be so terrified right now. I decided to keep her mind off of the storm. "Let's not think about that right now, okay? We're are going to get out of here. In one piece. And when we do. We can…" I thought of something random to say. After a while I said, "We can run away together. You know, escape everything and leave." I felt Annabeth smile. "Sure." She said doubtfully. "What? We could if we wanted." I commented. "I doubt that." She said. "We could!" I said trying to convince her. "Alright, alright." I shook my head and leaned it against the wall. I thought about the idea of running away with Annabeth. I would do it.

"No but seriously. Think about it. Us running away together. Sure we're going to have people tell us that we shouldn't do it but we'll ignore them." She laughed and put her arms around my waist. "I think we could do it. But suitcases will slow us down. We going to need something that won't slow us down."

"What about shopping carts?" Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, shopping carts it is. And then before we leave, we'll have to leave our mark on the town. You know do something stupid that everyone will remember." I laughed. "Maybe we could… I don't know get drunk and steal a car or run around and yell so loud that we lose our voice. And then we can go to some unknown town so that we don't ever get caught." We both laughed at the idea. We got quiet again. The rain outside was dying down and I couldn't hear the alarm anymore. Maybe the tornado happened somewhere else… I looked down at Annabeth. She was asleep and softly snoring. I sighed and leaned my head against the wall again. Soon I fell asleep to the sound of Annabeth's soft snoring.

{Page Break}

I woke up to Annabeth shaking my shoulder.

"Percy! Wake up!" Opening up my eyes, I groaned. "What?" I complained. I coughed. She squatted in front of me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" I coughed again. "My throat hurts." I said in a raspy voice. She frowned with concern. "Let's get home and I'll take care of you there."

"But what about the storm?" She stood up. "It stopped." She held out her hand. I grabbed it and she helped me up. I tried to clear my itchy throat but it only made me cough more. "Yeah, we need to get you home." Annabeth advised. She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the window. She grabbed the hammer and pulled the nails out of the wooden plank. She dropped the hammer after she was done and moved the plank out of the way. She dusted off her hands. "Go. I'll help you up." I put up my finger when she protested. "Remember what I did when you protested last time. Just go Annabeth, you're going to go first anyways." I said in my raspy voice. She sighed and let me help her up. Once she got to the other side, I heard her yell, "Okay, you're turn!"

I climbed up and got out of the dusty diner. Once I got down, Annabeth was nowhere to be seen. I looked around and saw her by the entrance to the alley. I walked up next to her. "Hey, what's wrong?" I rasped out. "Look." She pointed to the street. I looked. "Whoa…" I muttered. On the street was a huge tree, carelessly thrown on the road. A group of people tried to move it out of the way. The weird thing was that it was morning. "Did we sleep through the night?" She nodded. "Yeah, it's Sunday." She informed. I nodded and intertwined our hands. "Told you we'd be fine." I muttered. She rolled her eyes and pulled me away from the tree sighting. "We need to get home. I'm pretty sure your friends are worried about you." I nodded.

As we walked around downtown, we looked at all the damage that was caused. Pieces of wood were all over the place but gladly we saw no hurt people. I looked down at my hands as we turned into my street. Little pink scars were scattered all around my hands, which were caused by the glass on the window. Annabeth noticed that I was staring at the scars. She grabbed both of my hands and kissed my combined knuckles. "There. Better?" She asked softly. I grinned and gave her a peck on the lips. She giggled a little. We kept walking down my street. Once we got to my house, I looked at the driveway. My mom's car was there. Oh no… Mom's here. I clenched and unclenched my jaw repeatedly in a nervous manner.

I took out my key and unlocked the front door. "Mom?" I called out, wincing when my throat stung. Annabeth smirked. "I forgot you lived with your mom." I blushed and closed the door behind her as she got in. After a couple of seconds, I heard thumps. "Percy!" I looked at the stairs to see my mom running down. She tackled me in a hug. "Oh Percy! I was so worried!" I smiled and hugged her back. "Yeah, sorry mom. Annabeth and I were stuck at Central Park and both of our phones died so I couldn't contact anyone." She pulled back and looked at me with concern. "What happened to your voice?"

"I think he's getting sick." Annabeth answered. My mom frowned. "Oh no. You better get to bed and I'll make you some soup." Annabeth piped up. "I'll put him to bed and then I'll come back down to help you with the soup." My stomach dropped. Ok, hold on. Back up. Did she just say that she was going to help my mom cook? That means… she could _talk _to her. I really don't want Annabeth to find out my secret from my mom. "Actually, I was hoping you and I could talk. Upstairs." I said nervously. "We can talk later. Right now, I want to get to know your mom."

"Yeah and I want to get to know my son's girlfriend." My mom said. This is bad. "Uh no no. Uh we were going to go t-talk upstairs about… about… um." I struggled to come up with something. I didn't. "Percy, until you figure out what you want to talk about, I'll be down here, helping your mom." I gave up and nodded. Annabeth gave me a reassuring smile and led me up the stairs. Once we got in, I sat down on the bed. Annabeth closed my bedroom and leaned against my desk. She crossed her arms. "So, um, why don't you want me talking so much? Do you think she's going to show me some of your baby pictures?" She joked. I rubbed the back of my neck. "N-No. It's just that…" I still couldn't think of anything. Annabeth pushed off my desk and walked over to me. I hugged her waist as she played with my hair. "I'll be back okay? And then we can talk about whatever you want to talk about. Okay?" I gave up. Maybe I'm just overreacting. "O-Okay." She kissed my head and pulled back. "Get some rest." She demanded. I saluted. "Yes ma'am." She laughed and left my room. My hands shook as I plugged in my phone. After a while, it turned on. I scrolled through the _millions_ of texts and missed calls I got from the guys and my mom. Well, my mom knows I'm alright so I guess I can call the guys. I dialed Nico's number and waited for him to answer. After 1 ring, he answered. "Percy! Oh gods! Please tell me you and Annabeth are okay?" I smiled at his concern for both of us. "Hey Nico. Yeah, we're both fine."

"Whoa, what's wrong with your voice?" He questioned. "Well, I think I'm getting sick."

"Oh. Well, the guys are worried sick about you. You should call them."

"Ok. I will." Then I remembered something. "Oh, hey Nick. You know how you said that we're having another gig soon. When is it?"

"Oh yeah. It's tonight." My eyes widened. "Whoa. Why so soon?" I asked. "Well they said they wanted us to be back as soon as possible, so we talked about it and they said that we could come back on Sunday. Which is today." He explained. "B-But Nico. We don't even have a song to sing. And not to mention that we still have to practice it."

"Hey, don't worry about it. The gig doesn't start until 8:00. That's plenty of time." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay, okay. I'll call you back when I have a song. And do you mind calling the guys for me? I need to get started on the song like now."

"No I don't mind. I'll call them. You just write the song. Call me if you need any help."

"Kay' bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and grabbed my songbook and a pencil from the bedtable. I got up and walked to my desk. Sitting down, I thought of ideas. I bit the tip of my pencil and thought. I sighed when I couldn't think of anything and put my head in my hands. I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hands and winced when they started stinging. I pulled back and saw the cuts on them. Suddenly, when I remembered how I got them, I remembered the storm. Then I remembered the conversation Annabeth and I had in the abandoned 'Pig Stand'. I smiled and picked up my pencil. As I began writing, I silently reminded myself to thank Annabeth later for being my inspiration.

Annabeth's POV:

I was still wondering why Percy was so persistent on getting me to not talk to his mom. I mean, how bad can she be? Walking down the stairs, I heard the clanking of dishes hitting each other and the sound of running water. I turned the corner to see Ms. Jackson washing dishes. She didn't notice me until I actually got into the kitchen. "Oh hey Annabeth. Did you finally get Percy to let you go?" I let out a small laugh. "Yeah. He let go when I told him that I would be back." Ms. Jackson chuckled and rinsed the bowl. "Good." Ms. Jackson cooed. I walked up next to her. "Okay, so what do you need help with?" Ms. Jackson took the wet bowl out of the water. "Can you get me the dish rag by the oven, sweetheart?" I grinned when she called me 'sweetheart' and got the dish rag for her. I handed it to her and she wiped down the bowl. I waited for her to tell me to do as she set down the bowl on the counter. "Okay, now we have to cut up some vegetables." She turned around and walked over to the refrigerator. She looked through the crisper and murmured to herself. "Okay, here there are." She pulled out two carrots and two potatoes. "Now we have to cut the carrots and peel the potatoes." I nodded. She grabbed a peeling tool and a knife from the sink and dried them off. "Do you want to cut or peel?" She asked. "Whichever." She nodded and gave me the knife. She rinsed off the carrots and potatoes. "Here you go." She gave me the carrots. I smiled at her and started cutting the carrots.

We worked in silence for a while until Ms. Jackson started up a conversation. "So, did you meet Percy at school?" I shook my head. "No I haven't know Percy that long." She frowned but nodded anyway. "Well, he's very fond of you. I'll tell you that." She informed. I blushed. "Really?" She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. He is." I continued cutting the carrots. Once in a while, I would look up and look around the kitchen. Especially the picture on the refrigerator. It was a picture of a family at the water park. A woman wearing a bathing suit, who I'm assuming was Ms. Jackson, was standing on one side of a little boy who looked only 5 years old. The little boy had black hair and familiar sea green eyes. I realized that it was Percy. But the weird thing was, there was a man on the other side of Percy. An exact replica, except this man looked at least 30. He must've been Percy's dad… As a matter of fact, where is Percy's dad?

"If you don't mind me asking, where's Percy's dad?" Ms. Jackson grimaced. "Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to…" Ms. Jackson shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. It's just…" She paused. "It's just I haven't talked about Poseidon in a long time." Ms. Jackson grinned sadly. "He was only 45 when he died. He had said he was going on a fishing trip down at Long Island. He had asked Percy to go with him. Percy didn't go, thank gods." She sighed deeply. "He caught a large fish, the largest he had ever caught. The fish…" She leaned against the counter and bit her lip to keep from crying. I put the knife down and put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to continue." I reassured. She shook her head and recomposed herself. "It's fine. T-The fish. It, um, it escaped Poseidon's grip and flopped back into the water. The fish was so powerful that when it jumped off of him, it pushed Poseidon of the boat. He was too shocked to even swim back up… He drowned." I squinted at the carrots as Ms. Jackson let a tear streak down her cheek. "Are you okay?" I felt like 'I'm sorry' didn't make up for the loss of a human. So I just asked if they were okay. Ms. Jackson nodded and continued peeling. "Yeah, I'm fine. Percy was only 6 when it happened." I said nothing. We stayed silent as we continued to cook.

Once we finished the soup, Ms. Jackson poured some in a bowl. "Are you sure you don't want any, sweetheart?" I shook my head and took the bowl of soup from her. "I'm not that hungry." I said. Just then, my stomach growled, proving that I wasn't telling the truth. I smiled sheepishly as Ms. Jackson laughed and pulled out another bowl. "Go give that to Percy and I'll take you your bowl." She said while laughing. I nodded and walked up the stairs. I heard soft strumming coming from Percy's room. Frowning, I opened the door to see him sitting at his desk, playing his guitar. I sighed frustratingly. "Percy. I told you need to rest. Why are you up?" Percy looked up at me and gave the crooked grin that I fell in love with a month ago. I placed his bowl in front of him and closed the door behind me. "Sorry but I needed to write a song for tonight." He beckoned me over. I walked in between his open legs. He rested his head against my stomach. His arms hugs my thighs. "Tonight?"

"Yeah. The gig was tonight." I grinned. "Why so early?" I asked. "It's better than waiting another month." I let out a small laugh. "Have you finished?" I felt Percy smile widely against my stomach. "Yup. With your help of course." I chuckled. "My help?" Percy rubbed his thumb against my thigh. "Yeah. You inspired me with this song."

"Don't I always inspire you with every song I've ever heard you perform?" He laughed and pulled away from my embrace. "Yeah, but this one is…. Special." He informed. I smirked. "Oh?" He nodded. "Ye-"

"Knock-knock." Ms. Jackson said as she opened the door. I smiled at her as she handed me the bowl of soup. "Thanks Ms. Jackson." She nodded and smiled sweetly. "I'll leave you 2 to eat. Percy, bring both bowls down when you guys are done, okay?" Percy's hand rubbed my thigh as he nodded. "Kay'." He said. Ms. Jackson left. I looked back down at Percy. "You need to eat and then rest up for the gig tonight." Percy shook his head and grabbed the bowl of soup. I sat down on his bed while he sat by his desk. "I don't think I have time to rest." He rasped out. "Yes you do. Now, eat." I demanded. He smiled as he took a sip of the warm soup. "Mmm." He hummed. "Good?" I asked. He nodded eagerly. I laughed and took a sip of my own soup. He was wrong. It wasn't good.

It was delicious.

Percy's POV:

It took a while for me to convince Annabeth to leave when we started practicing the song I wrote. But after I told her that it was supposed to be a surprise for her, she left. The guys and I practiced and practiced. I had realized that I didn't tell my mom about the gig from a month before so I told about this one and she was ecstatic. She would not stop congratulating us… or leave us alone to practice. She was even coming to the gig. I didn't mind because she _was _my mom after all but I made her promise not to embarrass me.

Now, here we are. Once again, backstage at the Hard Rock Café. My mom said she would be at the back of the restaurant. Annabeth was with us in the back. I was grateful. "Percy, will you calm down? You've done this before." She said. "Yeah, but what if I mess up?" My voice had gotten better but it was still a little raspy. It made me sound like I was congested. She rolled her eyes as if to say, 'Here we go again'. "Percy, you said that the last time and look what happened." I nodded and stared at her. Just looking at her seemed to calm me down. It helped that she was ungodly beautiful in her red leather jacket, light brown V-neck, blue jeans, and ankle boots. She blushed. "Why are you staring at me?"

I didn't say anything. I just simply kissed her. She smiled into the kiss. "Percy, we're going to start in- oh." Leo interrupted as he opened the small red curtain that was covering us from the rest of them. I pulled away and quickly stood up. "Oh sorry guys. I seem to know how to ruin a moment, huh?" I shook it off. "Its fine, bud. Just go get the guys so we can go over the song one more time." He nodded and walked away, closing the red curtain behind him. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my thighs. "Okay, well looks like I have to go." Annabeth stood up and hugged me. "You'll be fine." She kissed my cheek. "I love you." She murmured sweetly. I smiled as a surge confidence went through me. "I love you too." She grinned at me before leaving to go get a place in the large audience. Hopefully, I can see her from the stage. Composing my nervous self, I walked over to the curtain closed stage to meet up with the guys. Soft murmuring was heard from outside the curtain, the audience. "Hey guys." I waved. Beck nodded towards me as he taped his drumsticks. Nico looked up from his guitar, which he was tuning. "Hey dude." Leo was smiling widely at me, like he was trying not to laugh. I smacked the side of head. He just laughed. I got in my position, as did the guys.

"Okay, so are you guys ready?" The stage hand asked. We all nodded. "Okay, you're on in 5, 4, 3, 2," He went silent on the one and just held up one finger. The curtain opened to reveal a _very _large crowd. They all started cheering as we came into view. I smile when I spotted Annabeth by my mom. I waved. A group of teenage middle-school girls that were in front of Annabeth squealed because they thought I was waving at them. I laughed a little. I grabbed the mic when the crowd quieted down. "Hey there. I would like to dedicate this song to my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase." Everyone cheered but I saw some girls in the audience frown. "NO! PERCY JACKSON IS MINE!" I heard someone girl yell from the front of the audience. The guys laughed as I just shook my head and looked over at Annabeth. She was smiling widely at me. "Let's get started." Leo said into the mic.

**(The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls)**

_(P)= Percy (N)= Nico (L)= Leo (B)= Beck (A)= All_

_(P) Paper bags and plastic hearts_

_All our belongings in shopping carts_

_(P&amp;N) Its goodbye_

_But we got one more night_

_Let's get drunk and ride around_

_And make peace with an empty town_

_(P) We can make it right_

_(L) Throw it away_

_(P&amp;B) Forget yesterday_

_(A) We'll make the great escape_

_(P&amp;B) We won't hear a word they say_

_They don't know us anyway_

_(P&amp;N) Watch it burn_

_Let it die_

_Cause we are finally free_

_(P) Tonight_

I took the mic of the stand and started walking around the stage. The crowd was cheering loudly.

_Tonight will change our lives_

_It's so good to be by your side_

_(P&amp;N) We'll cry_

_We won't give up the fight_

_We'll scream loud at the top of our lungs_

_And they'll think it's just cause we're young_

_(A) And we'll feel so alive_

_(L) Throw it away_

_(P&amp;B) Forget yesterday_

_(A) We'll make the great escape_

_(P&amp;B) We won't hear a word they say_

_They don't know us anyway_

_(P&amp;N) Watch it burn_

_Let it die_

_Cause we are finally free_

_(N) Tonight _

_(P&amp;L) (All of the wasted time)_

_The hours that were left behind_

_The answers that we'll never find_

_They don't mean a thing tonight_

I walked off the stage as they had an instrumental break. The crowd parted a way for me. I walked over to Annabeth. She was smiling at me with tears in her eyes. My mom stood beside her. My mom, on the other hand, was downright bawling. I smiled at both of them. I grabbed Annabeth's hand and put it over my heart.

_(L) Throw it away_

_(N) Forget yesterday_

_(P) We'll make the great escape_

_(B) We won't hear a word they say_

_(P) They don't know us anyway_

I kissed Annabeth's nose quickly before making my way back to the stage.

_(L) Throw it away_

_(P&amp;B) Forget yesterday_

_(A) We'll make the great escape_

_(P&amp;B) We won't hear a word they say_

_They don't know us anyway_

_(P&amp;N) Watch it burn_

_Let it die_

_Cause we are finally free_

_(P) Tonight_

The crowd cheered on as the music ended. I laughed as the security guards held back the crowd from toppling us down. "Thank you!" I yelled into the mic but it was only drowned in the roar of the crowd. I looked over at my mom and Annabeth. My mom yelled, "I'm so proud of you!" Surprisingly, I heard her over the loudness. I smiled at her and looked at Annabeth. 'I love you.' She mouthed. I grabbed the mic. "I love you too, Annabeth Chase." My voice rang through the restaurant as she laughed. I waved at her one last time before the curtains closed.

**Sorry. Probably one of my worst chapters ever but I couldn't think of anything else to do. Plus, this was kind of a filler chapter anyway, until the real drama starts. Next chapter will be the last week of school before Christmas break and then a little surprise for Leo (Everyone's favorite character). I hoped you enjoyed it anyway.**

**NEWS ALERT:  
The Poll Results:**

**Yes- 5**

**No- 7**

**Yes, Annabeth will NOT be a musician.**

**Thank you to everyone that voted. I hope you aren't too disappointed with the results.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey. I won't make this chapter as boring as the other one. Or at least I hope… Enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: Plans by Plug In Stereo**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO Characters or any of the songs in the story**

Chapter 9: Leo Just Wants To Dance

Percy's POV:

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Your mom _fired _you because she thought I was going hurt you." Annabeth nodded and took a sip of her coffee. Today was Thursday, three days after the gig. Annabeth and I were at Starbucks, drinking coffee and talking. On Monday, when we went back to school, it was absolute _chaos_. Students had to be held back by teachers because they all tried to clamor us for autographs. It was ten times worse than the Monday after our _first_ gig. A bunch of girls flirted with us. Beck and I said we had girlfriends and they all backed off. Leo and Nico were screwed though.

"That's kind of messed up." I commented. She agreed and stared outside the window. She looked… troubled. I sat up straighter. "Hey, what's wrong?" I grabbed her hand from across the table and gave it squeeze. She shook her head. "It's nothing." I knew she was lying. I may be new at this boyfriend thing but I could still tell if my girl was troubled or not. "I know it's not nothing Annabeth." She took a deep breath. She knew from previous times that it was pointless arguing with me. "It's just… I'm in some really deep debt right now." I frowned. "What do you mean?" I asked. She bit her lip and didn't look me in the eyes. I tried to make eye contact with her. "Annabeth?" She finally looked at me. "Percy, I haven't paid a single bill for the last month. And I don't have any money because I don't have a job. My electricity went out. My water went out just this morning. And to top it all off, my rent was due last week. My landlord said I have week to come up with the money or else he's going to kick me out."

"Why don't you just talk to your mom? She's not that cold hearted to not help you with your life, right?" She shook her head and kept staring out the window. "No. I can't go back to my mom. I don't want to give her the satisfaction of my begging." She let go of my hand and crossed her arms. I thought of an idea. "Do you have a check book?" She nodded and frowned. "Yeah, why?" I beckoned for her to give it to me. She took it out her small string purse and handed it to me. "Do you have a pen?" She took one out and gave it to me. "Thanks." I muttered. "Ok, how much is it all?" Her eyes widened when she realized what I was doing. "Percy, no. I can't let you do that. It's my problem not yours. Let me deal with it." I put the pen down and leaned back. "Annabeth, you're my girlfriend. And I love you too much to just sit back and watch you struggle in life. So, how much is it all?" We had a staring contest. I was winning. She sighed in defeat. "Fine." She mumbled. I smirked and picked the pen up. "Ok, how much?" She thought for a second. "Ok, so my water bill is about 96 dollars and then my electricity is 134 dollars. And then my rent is 268 dollars. So all together it would be…" She thought for a second. "498 dollars." She completed. I nodded and wrote the check for 520. (There's still tax). I ripped it out the check and gave it to her.

I had gotten a bank account when we had the first gig. Hard Rock had to put the money somewhere. Sunday's gig paid about 400 and our first gig was about 300. We still hadn't used the money for the first gig because we were saving it for emergencies. This is an emergency. She looked at the check and sighed. She handed it out to me. "Percy, you put an extra 20 on here." I waved it off. "Tax." I said simply. She pursed her lips before nodding and putting the check in her purse, along with the check book and her pen. "Where did you even get the money anyway?"

"Our gigs." Her head shot straight up. "You paid me with your _band _money." I nodded and took a sip of the slightly cold coffee. "Percy." She groaned and put her head back. "What?" I asked innocently. "That's for your band. Not me." I grabbed her hand. "I already told you. I hate to see you struggle." She bit her lip. Nodding slowly, she leaned forward. I met her halfway in a kiss. It was quick but sweet. "Thank you." She muttered as she sat back down. I smiled at her.

After a while of talking and drinking coffee, we finally decided to leave. I intertwined Annabeth's and I's hands as she walked out of the Starbucks. "It's only 9:00. You want to go back to your place or do you wa-"

"Annabeth?" A male voice said from behind. We turned to see a familiar enemy. "Matt." He was in a beige hoodie and dark blue jeans with red sneakers. When he snarled, his cracked teeth showed. I remember when he got those cracked. He picked on the wrong guy in middle school and then boom. He got punched in the face about ten times. "I thought you would leave him by now." He sneered at me. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Matt, just leave. I'm never going to get with you and that is a harsh reality that you have to realize. Now can you please leave me and Percy alone, for like the rest of our lives?" I nodded eagerly. I was still surprised Matt hadn't recognized me. "No way. I said I was going to fight for you and I will." Matt took off his jacket and got in a fighting stance. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing. "Oh, you want to fight?" I questioned. Matt nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Wait. There isn't going to any fighting." Annabeth intervened. I was actually willing to fight Matt. I had gotten a lot stronger since the last time I had seen him.

But, he hadn't really done anything to bring back the hate I had for him. Matt grabbed Annabeth by the waist and kissed her. When he pulled back, Annabeth made a disgusted face and wiped her mouth. He pushed her behind him and said, "Stay right there, babe. It's only going to take me couple of seconds to beat this little twerp." I was basically fuming by now. I clenched my fists and held back from punching the living daylight's out of him. "Annabeth look away." I told her. She appeared behind Matt's shoulder. "Why?"

"Just look away, Annabeth." I demanded as I glared hard at Matt. He was returning the glare. In the corner of my eye, I saw her turn around and put her hand over her eyes. I smirked evilly at Matt. For a second, I saw him cower in fear but only for a second. Before he knew it, I punched him with all my might. I heard the crack of his jaw and felt it go out of place as I hit it. He was out cold. He toppled on the ground. Annabeth stiffened. She must've heard the crack too. Yeah, it was that loud. It was hard to move my hand but I was too blinded by anger to care. "You can turn around now." I told Annabeth. She moved the hand from her eyes and saw Matt on the ground. She gasped. "Percy… what did you do?" I stayed silent. Annabeth bent down and turned Matt's face. His nose was bleeding. I must've hit that too. "Percy…" She poked at his face. "Wow. He's out cold." I nodded. "So," She turned to me. "Do you want to just leave him or do you want to put him somewhere safer?" As much as I hated him, I didn't just want to leave him here at 9:00 at night. I stepped forward and grabbed his arms. I dragged him to the side of the sidewalk and sat him up against the wall. I put his hoodie on top of his and cleaned the blood off his nose. It probably wasn't broken because I know for a fact that broken noses bleed a lot more than his did. I stood back up and next to Annabeth, who was examining him. "There. Now he just looks like a homeless person." I said.

Annabeth nodded and looked at me. She kissed my cheek. "You didn't need to hit him." She commented. "Hey! He wanted to fight me!" I defended myself. She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Ok. Let's just get out of here before the people that saw you hit him, call the cops." I nodded. She went to grab my right hand, the one I hit Matt with. I winced. She looked down at my hand and gasped softly. "Oh my gods, Percy." She inspected it. "We need to take you to a hospital." She demanded. I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. We just need to get out of here, like you said." Annabeth looked at my hand with concern. After a while, she kissed it. "Better?" She asked. I smiled at her. "Yes."

{Page Break}

Annabeth and I hung out at her place for a while. I only felt the slightest bit guilty about Matt. When I left to go home (At like 11:00 at night, Annabeth didn't want me to leave so late. But I had school tomorrow so I didn't to repeat what happened last week.), I went to go check on Matt. He wasn't there anymore. He must've woken up and left.

Surprisingly, I got home safely with no complications. Opening the door to my house, I dialed Annabeth's number. "Percy? Did you get home okay?" I smiled. "Yeah. I'm fine. I didn't think you would stay up just to check up on me." I heard her scoff. "Percy, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I _didn't_ care about you?" I closed the front door and walked up the stairs, smiling widely. I still liked it when she said she was my girlfriend. It helped me realize that this wasn't a dream. "Well, I think you wouldn't even be my girlfriend if you didn't care about me." I answered. "Exactly!" She exclaimed while laughing. I laughed with her. I got into my room and put the phone on speaker. I placed it on top of my drawer. I stripped my clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked after she didn't say anything.

"Hmm?" She said quietly. I put on my red flannel pajama pants. "Falling asleep?" I walked over to my drawer and got my phone. I laid down on my bed, placing my phone on my bare chest. "No. I was just…" She went silent. I laughed. "Annabeth, just go to sleep. I'll call you tomorrow. Okay?" She sighed sadly. "Alright. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight." We said our goodbyes and hung up. As soon as I hung up, I found myself missing her voice already.

{Page Break}

"Care to explain why you are so sleepy, Percy." My mom asked as I hit my head on the window of the car for the umpteenth time this morning. I raised my head and blinked slowly. "What?" I murmured. My mom stopped at a red light and turned to me in her seat. "Why. Are. You. So. Sleepy?" She said each word sternly. I groaned and placed my head on the window, closing my eyes. "I might have came home at 11:00 at night and then stayed up for a little talking with Annabeth." My mom let out a small gasp. "Percy." My mom scolded. I rolled my eyes through my closed eye lids. "What? I came home safe, didn't I?" She scoffed. I felt the car move forward. "Look, if you're going to stay out late with your girlfriend, at least make it on a weekend. Your studies are important too." I smiled a little and took a little nap on the way over to school.

"Bye, sweetie." My mom called out as I closed the door to the car. I waved at her through the window and she drove off. "Percy!" I heard my name be called. Turning around, I saw Beck and his girlfriend beckoning me over. I waved and walked over. "Hey guys." I was friends with Silena but I didn't know her that well. All I knew was that she and Beck were hopelessly in love. They were with the rest of the guys and two new faces were there too. I nodded towards the guys and looked at the newbies of the group. "Thalia and Calypso. What are you guys doing here?" I asked as nicely as I could. Thalia, as I said before, used to be best friends. We would sometimes say hi if we saw each other in the hallways but other than that we didn't talk that much. She was smiling but I could tell from her eyes that she didn't trust me like all the other guys she meets.

**(A/N: Reminder: Thalia thinks all men are pigs {Chapter 4} because of her ex.)**

Nico stood beside her. Blush was spread across his face, making his whole head look like a tomato. I understood why he liked her so much. She was pretty and she was _exactly _Nico's type. Dark eyeliner, black clothes, and she had a powerful aura that just _screamed _punk. Nico and she were also best friends back then so he knows that she and he like the same things. But still that didn't stop him from being so nervous around her. Leo stood next to Calypso. Both of them were quiet next to each other which was very odd because Leo is normally a very loud guy. Calypso was a complete opposite of Thalia. Except for the fact that they're both pretty, Calypso had blonde hair while Thalia had black. Calypso had almond shaped brown eyes while Thalia had round electric blue eyes. Calypso normally wore light colors while Thalia did not. I didn't really know Calypso but I know that Leo has a crush on her and that's about it.

"We're just discussing the party that we are going to host at Silena's house tonight." Leo said while his hands were stuffed in his pockets. Party? "What party?" I asked. Nico put sliced his hand over his throat, as if he was telling me to 'shut up'. Leo did it too. I pretended that I remembered the said party. "Oh, yeah. The _party_. I forgot about that." I looked pointedly at the guys. Beck was just chuckling quietly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah," Leo turned to Calypso and Thalia. "So, I guess we'll see you guys there?" He said it more to Calypso more than Thalia. They both nodding. "Bye Leo. See you tonight." She said in a sweet voice before walking off. Thalia smiled at Nico and sighed. "I'll see you later okay?" Nico nodded. She ruffed his hair before walking up to meet with Calypso.

Nico stood there, frozen. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Uh, Nico? You okay, man?" Nico faintly smiled. "She touched my hair." He put his hand in his hair and pet his own head. "I'm never going to wash my hair again!" I laughed. "Now, that's something I believe." I turned away from the lovestruck Nico and over to Leo, Beck, and Silena. "So, what is this _party _you guys were talking about?" Beck pointed his thump to Leo. "Genius over here thought it would be a good idea to invite the girls over for a party." Leo scowled at Beck. "Hey. I wanted to seem like a cool guy so I said that they could come to our party."

"Leo, there is no party." I said. A look of realization came upon Leo's face. "Oh… yeah." Silena piped up. "Well you guys already said that it was at my place and since my parents are out of town and I don't really have any plans this weekend, let's host a party." She said cheerfully. I smirked and patted Leo and Nico's, who had barely just came over his shock, shoulders.

"Well, guys. It looks like we have a lot of work to do afterschool."

{Page Break}

I forgot I had told Annabeth that I was going to call her today so I called her when I walked into homeroom. I had about 4 minutes until the bell rang. "Who are you calling?" Leo asked as he sat down in his usual spot, next to me. Nico sat behind me and Beck sat next to Nico. It was a weird lay out but we were stuck like that for the rest of the year. I put the phone to my chest to muffle out any voices that came through. "Annabeth." I put the phone back on my ear. "Whipped." I heard Beck say under his breath. I threw my pencil at him. "Hello?" A voice croaked. I forgot it was only 8:00 in the morning. "Oh hey Annabeth. Sorry did I wake you up?"

"Percy? Are you there? What's wrong?" I frowned. "Annabeth? Can you hear me?"

"Per-cy?" I sighed. "Annabeth the signal is weak. You're breaking up."

"What about 'breaking up'? Percy?"

"You're breaking up." I said in a louder voice. I heard her gasp. "You're breaking up with me?" My eyes widened. "What?! No! Annabeth!" I stood up and walked out of the classroom. Maybe I can get a better signal out here. "Annabeth? Annabeth?" The call had ended due to the loss of signal. Oh no… I tried to call her back but the signal didn't allow me too. I cursed. I forgot that the school had _terrible _signal. I hit my head against one of the lockers outside the class. Why did I even call her while was in school?

Walking back into the classroom, the bell rang. I slumped into my chair. "What's wrong?" Beck asked as Mr. King walked into the class. "The signal messed up my voice so when I said that her voice was breaking up, she thought I was breaking up with her. And I tried to call her back but there's no signal in the whole stupid school." I kicked the chair in front of me, softly. "Good morning class." Mr. King clapped his hands together.

It is most definitely not a good morning.

Annabeth's POV:

I was terrified. Percy had just lost signal with me. Right when he said something about breaking up with me. I pushed the blankets off of me and hopped off my bed. I slipped on my bunny slippers. I sniffed and walked to the restroom to freshen up. After doing my morning routine, I grabbed my purse on the way out of my apartment. I didn't know where I was going but I needed to get out of there. I had tried to call Percy back dozens of times but he didn't answer. I decided that I needed to give him some space, even if I didn't like it. I pulled my jacket closer to me as I passed the Starbucks Percy and I were at last night. Only a drop of blood was on the concrete sidewalk. I cringed. I'll admit it. What Percy did last night kind of scared me. It was like he had a huge grudge on Matt that I didn't know about and he took it out on him last night.

I walked down the street for a while, letting my legs taking me wherever I went. I ended up back at my- wait no- my _mom's _work office building. Maybe Percy was right, I needed to talk to my mom.

Slowly walking in, I pushed the front door open. All my old workmates looked shocked like they were surprised that I was back. Thankfully, Malcolm wasn't anywhere to be found. I walked over to my mom's secretary. Leaning on her desk, I smiled at her. "Hey, Janet. Is my mom here?" I asked. Janet nodded. "Are you sure you want to go in there? I mean she is still a little grumpy from the last time you were here." I grinned reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, Jan. It'll be fine." I knocked on her door. I heard a muffled, "Come in." As I opened the door, I thought of what I was going to say to her. My mom sat at her desk, doing paperwork. She didn't look up when I walked in. "What do you want?" She asked not even looking up.

"Mom?" She looked up, shocked for a moment and then back to her regular self. She sat up straighter. "Annabeth." I walked in and closed the door behind me. "H-Hey mom." Tension grew in the air, thick enough to be cut by an axe. "Why are you here?" She placed her pen on the desk and clasped her hand together in front of her torso. I might as well do it fast. No turning back now. I walked up to her desk and sat down at one of the chairs that was in front of the desk. "I, uh, came back to apologize." I stated. She raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

I nodded. "Yes ma'am." A little flattery wouldn't hurt. As soon as I tell her that I'm still with Percy and that I don't plan on leaving him any time soon, I have a feeling she's going to haywire. My mom stayed silent for a while before slumping her shoulders down and putting her head in her hands. Uh… what is happening? "Annabeth…" She reached out for my hand. I reluctantly reached out for hers. She looked up from her hands and gave me hands a squeeze. Her eyes were red. Wait… was she _crying_? My mom doesn't cry. She never has ever since my dad died. "Mom? Are you okay?" I asked with concern. She smiled weakly. "Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be that way the other day. Please forgive me. Come back." She said softly. I was still in shock. I awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Uh, it's fine." She sobbed and reached out to hug me. I stiffened as she squeezed me. What is happening?!

"Mom, you do know that I'm still with Percy, right?" I asked carefully. She pulled back and sat back down at her desk. She nodded and tried to compose herself. "I-I know and I'm sorry I judged him. I should've at least asked how he was to you and what he does for a living. I should've gotten to know him better before I told you to leave him. And I get it now. I know over the years I have been a bit bossy-"

"A bit?" I questioned. She playfully glared at me. "Okay, very bossy. But that was only because I cared about you. And now I know that you're your own adult and it's time for me to let you go." I smiled. My mom was changing her ways and I couldn't be happier. "So I can stay with Percy?" She thought for a moment before nodding. "As long as I get to meet him one day." She concluded. "Okay. And I get to have my job back." She smiled at me. "Of course."

Well, that was a lot easier than I expected.

Percy's POV:

The wait for school to end was agonizing but it _finally_ ended. I sprinted out of English class and out of school and immediately pulled out my phone. Other students ran outside, cheering as they yelled out, "NO SCHOOL FOR TWO WEEKS!" (Today was the last day of school before Christmas break) I called Annabeth. Almost 3 rings later, she answered. "Percy?"

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just out with the guys and there bad signal. I was saying that your voice was breaking up, not that _we _were breaking up." I heard her let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank gods. You almost made me have a heart attack." I smiled. "I'm sorry." I apologized. I heard her chuckle. "It's fine. Hey, listen. I talked to my mom." I widened my eyes as the guys came out of the school. "Really?"

"Yeah, she gave me my job back and she wants to apologize to you. You know, for judging you before she even met you." I waved the guys over. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Just give me her number and I'll call her."

"She wants to apologize in person, Percy." I almost dropped my phone. "W-What? I don't think that's a good idea. What if she meets me and she yells at me?" I can't meet her mom. I can trick a young adult that I'm 22 but I can't trick an older adult. "You think she's bluffing? Percy she was _crying _when she told me this. My mom never cries." She asked unbelievably. I sighed. "Annabeth I didn't mean it like that-"

"No. I know what you meant, Percy." She spat. "You just called my mom a liar. She was not lying, I could tell she wasn't."

"Annabeth-"

"No, just forget it okay? If you want meet my mom, that's fine." She got dangerously calm. "Um, okay? I-I'll call you later, alright?" She was quiet for a while. "Alright." She grumbled.

"I love you." I said. She hung up. I brought the phone away from my ear and stared at it as if I couldn't believe what just happened. "Hey, Perce." Leo patted me on my shoulder. I ignored him. Did Annabeth and I just have our first fight? Why was it such a bad thing that I didn't want to meet her mom?

"You okay?" Nico asked me. I dismissed the argument she and I had and paid attention to the guys. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine," I put my phone back into my pocket. "So, should we get going to Silena's?" The guys nodded. "Yeah, we got a party to set up."

{Page Break}

Here's the thing, Silena's mom is famous and so is her dad. So she lives in a mansion. The mansion was ten times bigger than my house. Its landscape was amazing. The grass outside was a perfect green, pine trees outlined the drive way. Flowers of different kinds sat on the front of the mansion. A cobblestone path led to the front door. Columns held up the front of the mansion. The door were made of mahogany, making them pop out of the beige mansion. A fountain laid in the middle of the right side of the lawn. Crystal clear water sprouted out of it and right into the bottom half. The place still amazed me. Beck parked his truck in the driveway. Silena's last period is a free period (It was a glitch in her schedule) so she gets to go home early. Silena popped out of the glorious house. She ran up to Beck and gave him a big hug, which he returned.

She looked ready for the party. She was wearing a white crop top with light blue jean shorts and gold heels. Her hair flowed down her back and her makeup was done. Her lips shined with lip gloss and mascara made her blue eyes pop out. (The only reason I knew what mascara was because of Annabeth) She pulled away from him and looked at the rest of us. "Hey guys. The girls are inside waiting for you all."

"The girls?" Nico asked. I didn't realize that there were four cars here. I recognized Silena's car but not the other three. "Calypso, Thalia, and Calypso's friend who isn't talking for some reason. I don't know her name." I nodded as Nico blushed and Leo smirked. "Wow, Calypso just can't stay away from me." Leo flattened out his shirt and walked towards the mansion. Nico and I followed him in. Beck and Silena were in their own little worlds. But as soon as we got to the front door, they finally reacted and walked into the house with us.

The inside was just as amazing as the outside. As soon as you walk in, there's a kitchen on the right, the living room is front of you, and a set of stairs were on the left. In the living room, many brown couches took up most of the space. A flat screen TV was in front of the couches. Bookshelves stood on either side of the TV. If you went forward, you would hit the glass doors that led to the backyard, which held a pool and pool chairs. They even had a margarita bar back there.

The kitchen wasn't anything special. Just how a regular kitchen looked like. Microwave, refrigerator, sink, and cabinets. That's it. "Percy?" A voice squeaked. Sitting at the couch was the person who had been avoiding me all week.

"Rachel?" I had seen her in English class with Ms. Edwin but she moved seats. She even asked Ms. Edwin if she can change partners for the song project. The teacher said that you get who you get and you don't throw a fit. Thalia stood up as well as Calypso and greeted us. "Hey guys." She smiled sweetly at Leo, ignoring us. "Hey Nico." Thalia said while giving him a hug. Nico looked like he was going to pass out. It took all my strength not to laugh. Thalia gave us a simple wave. I looked over at Rachel. She sat there, quietly. Her arms crossed. "H-Hey, Rachel." I croaked. She turned to me. Her eyes showed hate and love all in one. She stared at me for moment before looking at Nico, Leo, and Beck. "Hey guys." They knew that there was tension between us two because I had told them about Rachel and how she kissed me. The girls didn't know though…

"So, now that we're all here. Let's start getting ready for the party. Okay, me and Beck can go get the drinks. Leo and Calypso can go get the supplies. Nico and Thalia can stay here and set up everything. Rachel and Percy can go get the food." Silena said while handing out lists of what we needed to get. She gave Leo and I wads of money. "Use this to pay for all of the stuff. And," She gave me her car keys and gave Leo Calypso's car keys. "This to get around." Calypso grabbed the keys from Leo. "I get to drive." She stated as she ran out of the house. Leo laughed and ran after her. Beck and Silena walked out and into Beck's truck. Nico and Thalia started over to the garage to get some tables that Silena had in there in case she ever had a party. Rachel stood up and reluctantly followed me to Silena's red Porsche.

I opened the door for her. She got in. "What no thank you?" I playfully asked. She ignored me and stared forward with her arms crossed. "Okay…" I closed her door and walked around Silena's car to the driver's seat. Opening the door, I got ready for a _long _ride.

{Page Break}

I keep glancing at Rachel through the whole ride to Walmart. She still had her arms crossed and she glared outside the window. The sun shined on her red curly hair and made her green eye glisten. I couldn't help but stare. I shook out of it. _No. You love Annabeth. You can't look at other girls. That would be very unloyal of you._

I teared my eyes from her and continued driving. Once we arrived at Walmart, I parked and got out of the car. I heard Rachel get out of the car behind me. I waited for her to catch up with me. We walked in sync over to the store. Rachel got a shopping cart while I looked over the list of food Silena gave me.

_Five bags of Doritos_

_Two jars of salsa_

_Five bags of tortilla chips_

_Two containers of guacamole_

_Two bags of hot dog buns_

_Two packs of hot dogs_

"Okay, so the first thing on the list is chips. Which isn't too far, let's go." I said. Rachel pulled up with the cart next to me and grabbed the list from me. She looked it over and nodded. She placed on the cart and started moving. We didn't talk for a while. I finally got tired of not talking so I tried to strike up a conversation with her. "So, how've you been?" She ignored me and pretended to be busy. I scoffed softly and bit the inside of my cheek. "Don't do that." She said quietly. I turned to her. "What?"

"Don't bite the inside of your cheek. Don't be cute around me." She sighed through her nose and stopped the cart. She sucked her teeth and forced herself to look into my eyes. "Don't." She demanded. "Rachel. I just want to know why you keep ignoring me." I questioned. "Because I like you Percy. And I told you that I liked you and you _rejected_ me. Do you know how it feels to be rejected by someone you like a lot? Not very good." She rambled. I winced. "I know Rachel. And I'm sorry that I don't know how that feels. But you have to understand that I didn't break your heart on purpose. I like you too Rachel but it's just… I have a girlfriend." She nodded slowly. "I thought you said you were in love with someone not that you were _with _someone." I groaned a little. "It's too complicated to explain." She stared down at the cart. "I'm sorry," She apologized after a while of silence. "I'm being too selfish, aren't I?" I shook my head and gave her a reassuring grin. "No. It's fine." We continued walking to the chips. Rachel was a lot less mad this time.

I'd say this grocery shop trip was a big success.

Nico's POV:

"Nico, can you come help me move this table?" I heard Thalia call from the living room. I walked out of the garage and over to Thalia's side. I was still nervous to even talk to her so all I said was, "H-Help with what table?" She gestured at the large white table that wasn't hard to miss. "Oh." I grabbed one side of the table. Thalia eyed me weirdly. "Why are you blushing so much?" She asked while laughing. We lifted the table and dragged it outside onto the backyard. "Uh, no reason. It's just a hot day, that's all." Thalia placed her side of the table down and chuckled.

"Nico. It's only 72 degrees."

"I'm wearing black clothing."

"So am I." She stated matter-of-factly. I gulped. "C-Can we just go and get the rest of the tables?" I asked. She smiled. "Okay, but you're still going to tell me why you're blushing so much." I laughed awkwardly and followed her into the garage.

We talked once in a while. The conversation would always end in me saying, "Yeah. Cool." Curse my inability to keep up a conversation. "So," Thalia said while plopping onto the couch. "So?" I questioned, plopping myself next to her. I was heavier than her so when I sat down, she tilted towards me. Making her press against me and making my heart race at 100 mph. She crossed her arms and I think I even saw a hint of blush on her cheeks. She looked around the house. "I think it's safe to say that we did a pretty good job." I smirked. "Yeah." I got enough confidence to put my arm on the couch, just above her shoulders. She absentmindedly snuggled into me.

I tried to maintain my breath. She looked up at me. Our faces were about two inches away from each other. I could feel her breath on my lips. "What do you want to do know?" She asked quietly, looking from my lips and to my eyes, back and forth. "I don't know." I whispered, as though we weren't alone. I leaned in. She backed her head up and smiled. Looking away from me but not moving, she looked at the clock. "Well, the party doesn't start until 7:00 and it's only 6:00 so," She turned to me, once again our faces were only a mere two inches away from each other. She eyed my lips and looked me in the eyes. "Oh, what the hell."

And she kissed me.

Leo's POV:

"Remind me again why you are getting two liters of chocolate chip cookie soda?" Calypso inquired. I grabbed a box of spoons and forks before I answered. "Well, ma cherie," I smirked on the French part. Thank gods I knew what that meant. (My sweetheart). I saw Calypso blush. And thank gods Calypso knew what it meant too. "It is not only the best thing you have ever tasted, but it is also limited edition." I held up the bottle and pointed at the yellow 'limited edition' sticker. Calypso scrunched her nose. "Okay, first of all, ew. And second of all, we're supposed to be getting supplies, not weird soda flavors." She took the bottle and placed it on a nearby shelf. I pouted at her. She held her ground. "Very good, young one. But you cannot fool me with your cute pouty face. I will not crack." She stated playfully. I chuckled and followed her to get more supplies. She didn't see me grab the soda behind her back. I put the bottle of deliciousness into the cart when she turned to look at the list of supplies. She looked at me and smiled. I smirked at her. "Put it back." She demanded sweetly. I groaned. "But- but… its _limited edition_. Meaning it's going away in a while and I may never get to drink it ever again." She laughed. "Don't be such a drama queen, Leo."

I stomped my foot on the ground and huffed. I grabbed the bottle and reluctantly put the bottle back in its place. Calypso laughed at me the whole time. I playfully glared at her. "Of course. Of course you find my pain funny." She mocked being sympathetic. "Oh, sweetie. I don't find it funny," She pouted and rubbed my arm. "I find it hilarious!" She yelled in my face. I put a hand over my heart in feign hurt. "I'm hurt, Cal. Very." She turned around and pushed the cart away. "Get over it, Valdez." I smiled and followed her around the store.

"Okay so all we need is the cups for the drinks." I piped up. "I'll go get them, just wait here." She nodded as I walked away to get the cups. When I got back, I saw a scene that I really didn't like. "Come on baby. Don't play hard to get." Calypso crinkled her nose in disgust and pushed the guys off of her. Although all he did was go right back to her. "Get off of me, Odie." I marched right over to them. "Hey! She said to let her go man!" I pulled him off of her. "Who do you think you are? You can't just go around, throwing yourself on girls!" I pushed him away from her and softly pushed Calypso behind me. I don't know what I was thinking.

The guys six feet tall and was as buff as a wrestler. I was scrawny and only five foot ten. He had a brown Mohawk and dark brown, almost black, eyes. "Who are you?" He glared at me. I stood up confidently and stuck my hand out. "Leo Valdez, please to meet you," He ignored my hand and stared at me weirdly. I pulled away. "That's a firm handshake you got there. Odie she called you, huh? I have a feeling that isn't really you're name. Who are you?" 'Odie' clenched his jaw. "I'm Odysseus."

"Odysseus what?" He sneered. "Odysseus is all you need to know." I raised my eyebrows and turned around to Calypso who was watching us intently. I pointed at Odie. "What a meanie, am I right?" I mumbled to her. Odie grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me off the ground. Calypso gasped. "Odie, let him go!" Odie got up in my face. "Look Valdez, I want you to stay away from Calypso, alright? She's mine and she will always be mine. You hear me?" I winced as his bad breath hit me.

"Actually," I rasped out. "I can hear you perfectly fine considering I'm literally in front of your face." Odie growled and dropped me on the ground. I fell down onto the ground with a huge oomph. Calypso crouched next to me. "Leo! Are you okay?" I groaned.

"Yeah. Just give me a couple seconds…" My voice strained. Calypso stood up and glared at Odie. "Get out of here, Odie. We used to be together but we aren't anymore. So will you please just leave before I call security on you?" She spat. Odie scowled at her and looked down at me. He smirked evilly. "See you later, Lame-o." I chuckled. "Good joke. I get it. Leo, lame-o. It's funny." He frowned and left without a word. Calypso let out a laugh of relief. "Oh gods. That was close." She held out a hand for me. I grabbed it and got up. She hugged me. "Thank you, Leo. That was a stupid thing to do but thank you anyway." I laughed softly and hugged her back. My heart was racing fast and I felt myself getting sweaty. She pulled away and smiled at me.

"We should get going. The party starts in about an hour so we have to get going." Calypso advised. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Percy's POV:

Rachel and I started having a conversation as we got the guacamole.

"Is she good to you?" She had asked. In which I replied with a "Who?"

"The girl you are in love with. I'm assuming it was the one at your door that one day." She said. I laughed weirdly. "Yeah. It was her. And she's fantastic to me." Rachel nodded and searched for the specific guacamole Silena told us to get. "That's… good." She looked weird. She almost looked… I gasped. "Rachel, are you _jealous_?" She frowned and turned to me. "No. Why?" I could tell she was lying. "Oh my. You are jealous." She scoffed. "I am not jealous. If anything, you should be jealous." I pointed to myself. "Me?" She nodded and pushed the cart further down the aisle. "Yes, you. I have a boyfriend. You know that right?" I laughed with resulted in her giving me a weird look.

"What?" She inquired. "Oh. It's just that it's fine if you have a boyfriend. I don't really care. I mean I'm happy for you but it's not that I mind or anything. Who is he by the way?" She huffed. "It's a guy named Owen. Well his name is 'Oracle' which is a name I find weird but everyone calls him Owen. His last name is Delphi." My eyes widened. "Owen Delphi. The guy in my science class that always predicts the future and ends up getting it right?" Rachel let out a little, "Yup." Before grabbing a guacamole of the shelf. "I think this one's it." She muttered before putting it in the basket.

"I'm happy for you." I concluded. She smirked. "Thanks Perce." And then she pushed the cart away.

The rest of the trip went on like that. Little conversations and finding the food. I helped Rachel put the groceries into the Porsche and we drove back to Silena's house. When we got there, we saw a strange sight. "Nico, stop!" Thalia let out a little giggle. Nico laughed and continued tickling. Rachel and I hid in the kitchen as the lovebirds played around. I crouched down so they didn't see us. Rachel and I put the groceries on floor and put our hands over our mouth to keep from laughing. "What. Is. Happening?" I whispered to Rachel. She stifled a laugh and peeked over the counter. She came back down and shrugged. "I'm guessing they got together while we were gone." I smirked when I had an idea. I took out my phone and put it on record. Rachel saw this and restrained herself from laughing once again.

I pointed the camera at her. She waved at it. I beckoned her to follow me. I crouch-walked over to the couple. I put the phone over the armrest of the couch but kept it a little low so that it wouldn't be noticed. "Nico!" Thalia yelled out. Nico laughed and got on top of her. He straddled her and tickled her even harder. Thalia squirmed underneath him. "Nico!" She tried again. He kept laughing at her. Her eyes started tearing up as she laughed hysterically. "N-Nico! Please s-stop!" Nico stopped tickling her and admired her as she calmed down. After a while of them staring at each other, Nico slammed his lips onto hers, emitting an oomph from Thalia. I decided to break it up and embarrass both of them. I stood up with the phone in my hand. Rachel stood up beside me. "Well, well. What we have here?" I asked.

Nico jumped up at the sudden sound of my voice, fell off the couch and hit his head on the coffee table. Thalia jumped up. "Percy?! What are you doing here?!" She exclaimed nervously. I just smiled and gestured to Nico. "I'll explain that right after you help your boyfriend up." Nico groaned and put a hand on the back on his head. Thalia stood up and grabbed Nico's arm. She lifted him onto the couch and sat next to him. "Are you okay?" She asked with concern, quietly. He nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll go get an ice pack." Rachel informed. She went into the kitchen. I turned off the video and sat down on another couch that Silena had in the living room. "Explain." I said simply with my arms crossed. Nico glared at me.

"Well, we were just setting up for the party and then we sat down as we finished. One thing let another and next thing you know, I have a girlfriend. A very beautiful one too." He said smugly. I turned to the lightly blushing Thalia. It doesn't hurt to embarrass him even more. "He writes song for you, you know?" Thalia blushed more. "Really?" She asked. Nico blushed a crimson red and sheepishly nodded. She kissed his cheek. "That's sweet." Nico smirked at me as if to say, 'Nice try.' I wasn't trying to get her to weirded out by him or anything, I was just letting her know some secrets he had about her. "He's had a crush on you since sophomore year." She scoffed and hit him on his shoulder. "What took you so long?" She scolded. Nico smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. Giving her a little squeeze, he said, "I was waiting for the perfect time."

She laughed as Nico nuzzled her neck with his nose. I smiled at the new couple. They would be Goode's top couple in no time. Rachel came back out and handed Nico the ice pack. Thalia eyed her warily as if Rachel was going to jump up and start kissing Nico. Thalia wrapped her arms around Nico's waist and held him close to her. Wow… she's very protective.

The rest of the group came back around at least thirty minutes before the party even started. A couple of people came early helped us set up.

So far the party was going great. And by great, I meant chaotic. Teenagers that were dancing in the backyard, which is big enough to have a large wedding, kept spilling their beer, making the grass slippery and people kept slipping. Beck and Silena were making out on one of her many couches. Nico and Thalia were playing beer pong on the table outside. They teamed up against these two twins. I think their names were Travis and Connor. Just looking at them made me want to check my pockets, making sure nothing was stolen. Leo was on the dance floor trying to get Calypso to dance with him. I heard someone holler, "Look what I brought!" I looked at the front door and saw a drunk teenager holding up what looked like a karaoke machine. I grabbed it from him before he toppled down on to the ground. I tapped him with my foot. Well, he's out cold. I went outside and over to where we had the stereo's. I yelled Leo's name over the loud music. He looked over from Calypso and waved at me. I waved him over. He beckoned for Calypso to follow him. He strided over to me with Calypso in pursuit.

"Yes, King Perseus?" He bowed. Calypso gigged. "Perseus?" I laughed sarcastically and plugged in the karaoke machine. "I need your help turning this on." I yelled over the music. Leo squatted next to me and pressed a button. The song that was playing, which was Clarity by Zedd and Foxes. The crowd groaned when everything went silent. I grabbed the mic and set everything up on the computer. Anyone who wanted to sing would have to stand next to the computer in order to see the words. Japanese techno music came on in the speakers. Some kids started dancing but some were wondering when the music was coming back. I tapped the mic, making sure it was working. "Hello everyone!" People let out a halfhearted hello. "I hope you guys are having a good time. Someone just brought a karaoke machine and I wondering who wanted to go first."

Leo's POV:

I raised my hand. I had no idea why though but I had an idea. A stupid idea but it didn't hurt to try. "I'll do it." I yelled as I walked up to Percy. He smiled and gave me the mic. I went over to the computer and searched for the perfect song. Finally I found a perfect song. "Okay! Hi there! My names Leo Valdez. I'm the electric guitar player in the band The Demigods." Some people clapped when they recognized my name. I choose the song and walked down to Calypso. I grabbed her hand and kissed it. She blushed a little. I walked over to the dance floor (I didn't need to read the lyrics, I already knew them). I put the mic to my lips and told Percy to, "Hit it!"

**(Just Wanna Dance by Geraldo Sandell)  
**_Italics= Leo _**Bold=Computer Background Voice ****_Bold Italics=Both_**

**_Aye aye, aye aye_**

_Tonight the summer heat is burning into me_

_Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh_

_The rhythm of the beat will set my body free_

_Whoa oh oh, oh oh_

_And everyone's moving_

_Everyone's grooving_

_I want and I tell you why_

_Oh eh oh, don't wanna hit the floor_

_Oh eh oh, we're not you anymore_

_Oh eh oh, I thought inside you knew_

_I just wanna dance_

_Just wanna dance here with you_

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

I started dancing as other people joined me. I ran over to Calypso.

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

I pointed at a girl that was staring at me very flirtatiously. Calypso glared at her.

_You see her over there_

_That girl is on_

_Hey, hey_

_Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh_

_But I don't even care I only look your way_

_Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh_

_And everyone's moving_

_Everyone's grooving_

_I want and I tell you why_

I tried to get her to dance with me but she still played hard to get.

_Oh eh oh, don't wanna hit the floor_

_Oh eh oh, we're not you anymore_

_Oh eh oh, I thought inside you knew_

_I just wanna dance_

_Just wanna dance here with you_

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

She didn't dance with me. Still playing hard to get huh? I laughed and danced over to the dance floor to rap my favorite part. I knew the computer was going to sing this part for me because a lot of people didn't know Spanish but I just sang along with it.

_Yo quiero estar contigo bailando este ritmo_

_Gozando, disfrutando, lo dicho estar contigo_

_Sigue, sigue, dale no pares mueve tu cuerpo hasta que acabe_

_Mirala, ella no es timida bailando a mi lado viva la vida_

Everyone gaped at me as I rapped in Spanish. Calypso just laughed because of the dance moves I did while rapping. I continued dancing as I went back into the chorus.

_Oh eh oh, don't wanna hit the floor_

_Oh eh oh, we're not you anymore_

_Oh eh oh, I thought inside you knew_

_I just wanna dance_

_Just wanna dance here with you_

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

_Aye aye, so dance dance_

_Aye aye, come on dance with me girl_

I tried to catch my breath as the song ended.

Percy's POV:

Leo held out his hand out for Calypso to take. She stared at it. I'm guessing that she just realized that he sang that song for her. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. People stopped cheering and watched the two. She sprinted forward and kissed Leo. Leo wasn't prepared so he stumbled back a bit. Seeing all these couples kissing made me really miss Annabeth. Other people sang karaoke. Some weren't so good and some were. An example of good singing was Will Solace, whose father is Apollo Brighton, Thalia's ex-boyfriend. Will also has a crush on Nico and it just makes things even more complicating. An example of bad singing was Travis Stoll. He sang to his girlfriend, Katie Gardener. Although he wasn't good, he still got praise from Katie.

The normal dance music turned back on and teenagers started dancing again. Leo and Calypso were dancing on the dance floor. Nico and Thalia were finishing their game of beer pong. Silena and Beck went back onto the couch and continued making out. I walked over to the kitchen and slumped against the counter. I grabbed a cup of beer and hesitated before drinking it. I hated it. I used to drink a lot when I was only thirteen years old. I didn't want to bring that back. But I was miserable. I had a fight with Annabeth. Sure it wasn't a big one but I promised myself that I wouldn't hurt her… and I did. I chugged it down and before I knew it.

I was drunk.

{Page Break}

Stumbling out of the elevator, I held my hands out so I couldn't fall. I made sure the bag of food stayed firmly in my hands as I unsteadily walked to her door. I knocked on the door with an unfamiliar pattern. It was only seconds later that she answered. I burped. She looked shocked. "Percy?"

"Annabeth!" I yelled. She shushed me and glared. "What are you doing here?" She inquired. "Hey, who's that at the door?" Someone asked. It was a man's voice. I frowned. "Who was that?" I slurred. "Percy, are you drunk?"

"Don't try to subject the change!" I said drunk voice. She closed the door a little and tried to keep me from looking inside. Every time I tried to peek, she would block my view. "Percy, why are you here?" I raised the bag of food. "I brought Chinese." She smiled for a second then her eyes went wide. The door open wider and there stood a shirtless guys that looked around Annabeth's age. I scowled. "Who are you?" He asked. The guys smiled, showing off his bright white teeth.

"Oh," I ignored his question. I was too drunk to comprehend what was going on. "I'll just… I think I'm just going to go." Annabeth pushed the guys out of the way and tried to plead with me. "Percy, this isn't what it looks like." I turned to go back to the elevator. I dropped the bag of Chinese food and tripped over it. I heard the guys laugh. Annabeth called out my name. I groaned and put my hands on my head. I felt the whole world shifting. Black spots appeared in my vision and I felt myself drifting away.

Before I knew it, I blacked out. The sound of Annabeth's voice fading into the silence.

**Wow… this is an extremely long chapter. (9537 words, 23 pages) I hope this made up for the boring chapter I put up last week. I'm sorry there was a short delay on the posting of this chapter but I think you can guess why it took me so long. Anyway, I got a girlfriend for Leo and Nico so that's a plus.**

**Hoped you enjoyed.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone. Sorry I've been gone for a while. Anyway, I'm back and that's what matters. Enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

**Warning: Excessive use of the F word later on in the chapter**

Chapter 10: I Forgive You

Percy's POV:

You know that feeling you get when you are missing something but you can't really figure out what. Yeah, I hate that feeling.

And that was the exact feeling I got when I woke up the next morning.

Opening my eyes to a face full of hair wasn't exactly how I pictured myself waking up. I expected myself to be at Silena's house passed out in the front lawn in only boxers. Suddenly I got scared. What if I was a Silena's and what if this person that was on top of me is someone I cheated on Annabeth with? I immediately reacted and pushed the person off of me. They fell off with a thump that was followed by an, "Ow!"

I knew that voice. It was my girlfriend's. Not a total stranger.

I shot straight up and held out my hand for her. "Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!" She took my hand and grumbled a, "Its fine." I let out a little laugh but then I winced when my head started throbbing. She got a look of concern on her face and rubbed the back of my head softly. "Hangover?" I closed my eyes. "Slight hangover." She nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, you took a pretty big fall yesterday." Before I could ask what she was talking about, she got up and went into the kitchen. I heard cupboards being opened and closed. I put my head in my hands and leaned my elbows on my knees. "Here." She said softly as she came back with a glass of water and two pills in her hand. I grabbed the pills and popped them into my mouth.

She held the cup up to my lips and gently poured some into my mouth. As I drank, I stared at her adoringly. She pulled away and put the cup on the coffee table. I sighed in bliss as the water sent the cool feeling into my dry throat. "Thanks." I said quietly. She snuggled into my side and I put my arm around her shoulders. After a while of silence, Annabeth spoke up. "Percy, there's something I have to tell you…" I looked down at her.

"Wha-"

_RING!_

My phone went off. I searched for my phone as Annabeth helped. "Found it." I mumbled as I pulled it from in between the cushions. Beck was calling me. It all came back to me. I was at a party last night. I got drunk and came to Annabeth's apartment. I went with that but then I got the feeling again. The 'I'm missing something' feeling. Answering the phone, I leaned back on the couch.

"Hey, Beck."

"PERSEUS JACKSON, WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU?!" Beck's voice yelled into my ear. I pulled the phone away and winced. "Geez Beck, will you calm down? I'm fine. I'm at Annabeth's." I heard him sigh in relief. "Thank gods! I thought you were kidnapped or something!"

"Sorry but apparently my drunk self decided to come visit Annabeth at midnight." I heard shuffling in the background and then Beck spoke up, "Do you mind coming over to help us clean up? And you can bring Annabeth if you want." I pursed my lips. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Don't worry. It's just us. And we'll inform the girls about you and your ordeal." I bit my lip and put the phone to my chest. "The guys need help cleaning up the trash we made at the party, do you want to come?" She nodded. "Sure, I don't start work until 5:00. I work late on the weekends." I grinned and put the phone back on my ear. "We're on our way."

…

Annabeth and I had to walk there. It wasn't that bad but it was freezing outside. We arrived there 20 minutes after we left. The lawn was littered with red cups, napkins, and, strangely, pool toys. That was weird because Silena didn't have a pool…

We held hands and glanced around the dirty lawn while walking to the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened up to a very hungover Nico. He didn't have anything on, just boxers. Annabeth pursed her lips and avoided looking at him. "Nico!" I scolded. He put his hand on his head and groaned. "I know, I know, but I can't seem to find my clothes… or Thalia." I gaped at him. "You lost your girlfriend?!" He flinched. "Look, are you here to yell at me or help us clean up?" I shook my head and passed him on the way in. Nico shut the door and went upstairs. "Maybe she's up here." He mumbled to himself. The living room was worse than the lawn. The couches were flipped upside down. More red cups and napkins. Plates were scattered all over the place and there was even more pool toys in here.

"Looks like I missed a great party." Annabeth commented. "You don't know the half of it." Beck said as he walked in with a trash bag. He didn't look as hangover as I thought he would. He bent down and grabbed a couple of red cups with his large hands. "Rachel and Calypso are in the backyard trying to get some drunk guy to wake up." I nodded and led Annabeth to the backyard.

The backyard wasn't that messy. "Hey Perce!" Rachel yelled from where she was. I saw Annabeth scowl as we walked over to her and Calypso. "Hey Rachel. Calypso." I nodded towards them in a greeting. Rachel smiled and looked at Annabeth. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Rachel commented. I nodded and answered for Annabeth. "Yeah you do. This is my girlfriend, Annabeth." I smiled at her reassuringly. Annabeth had met Rachel the day Annabeth said she loved me. Rachel held her hand out. "Hi, I'm Rachel." Annabeth reluctantly shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." Rachel said nicely. Annabeth chortled awkwardly and smiled a fake smile. "Yeah." She said quietly. "Hey, Perce. I'm just gonna go help Beck clean the living room. I'll see you later, okay?" I nodded and she gave me a peck on the cheek before heading inside. "She seems nice… When she's not jealous." Rachel concluded. I smiled at her and said, "Yeah. She's amazing." Calypso, who was poking the unconscious boy on the ground, spoke up. "Hey, Percy. Do you mind helping me wake this guy up?"

I crouched down next to her and patted the guys shoulder. "Hey, dude. Get up. You have to leave."

We finally got the guy to wake up and leave. Afterword, we started cleaning the backyard. "Hey, Calypso? Where's Leo?" I asked. She blushed when she heard his name and said, "He's in the front, cleaning." I shook my head and picked up a stray cup off the floor. "No, he isn't. I didn't see him there." She shrugged. "Well then, I don't know where he is." I laughed. "You and Nico need to learn how to keep track on the whereabouts of your significant others."

…

We finished a little before 12:00 (We had gotten there at 9:00). I dusted off my hands and stood next to Annabeth. "So, what are we going to do now?" I asked. Calypso went to go look for Leo and I had no idea where Nico and Thalia were. "Maybe go out to eat or something?" Beck suggested. Silena, who had come out of nowhere during mid-cleaning session, piped up. "How about that new pancake place that opened up a couple weeks ago? I heard that they had really good pancakes." Rachel nodded her head eagerly. "I could kill for some pancakes right now!" She exclaimed while rubbing her stomach. I laughed and turned to Annabeth. "You want pancakes?" She nodded. "Yeah sure." I grabbed her hand and smiled at her. "Let's go." I announced. They all let out a cheer and headed out the door. "Wait!" Yelled Silena. We all looked at her. "What about Leo, Calypso, Nico and Thalia?"

"Oh…" I volunteered to go look for them. Heading up the stairs, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around. It was Rachel. I gave her that 'what are you doing?' look. "I'm going to help." She said simply. I nodded and continued walking up the stairs.

I knocked on one of the many doors. "Nico? Thalia? Are you guys in there?"

It took us a long time to find them. We eventually found them inside a closet, passed out and cuddling. We let them compose themselves and we went back downstairs. Everyone was sitting on the couches Silena had, including Leo and Calypso. "Hey, Leo. Where were you?" He groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Passed out on the roof." I made no comment and sat down next to Annabeth. She hugged my arm and looked warily at Rachel. I gave her a kiss on the top of her head and guided her attention to me. "Nico and Thalia are coming." Rachel said while leaning against the arm rest of the couch next to Leo.

The others talked for a while, Annabeth and I were just off in our own little world. I kissed her nose which emitted a smiled from her. "Percy?" I drowned out the voice and leaned my forehead against Annabeth's. She kissed me. I felt a hand hit the back of my head. I winced and Annabeth shot back, her fingers went straight up to her bottom lip. "Ow!" She said. I had bit her lip. I looked at the culprit that hit me. Rachel. It took me a moment to realize that everyone was looking at us, including Nico and Thalia. "Uh… yes?" I slowly asked. Everyone started laughing at us as Annabeth and I blushed.

…

We all chose to walk to the pancake place. The guys and I walked behind the girls. We discussed about random things and the girls talked about who knows what. "How did the girls take the news?" I asked. Beck averted his eyes. "What?" I questioned. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Well…" He faded away. I scrunched my eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"So do you go to our school or something?" Everything happened in a flash. The second after Rachel had asked the question, the guys and I went into action. We all rushed forward and claimed our girlfriends, trying to strike up a conversation with them to keep _that _out of their minds. Rachel was left alone though…

"Hey, Annabeth." I cheerily said. A little too cheery. She frowned and pointed her thumb to Rachel. "What does she mean 'do you go to our-" I interrupted her in a kiss. "You know I love you right?" I tried to distract her. She smiled a bit. "Yeah and I love you too but I was just asking about what Rachel said." I laughed nervously and intertwined our fingers, pointing at a large building. "Will you look at that huge building over there?!" I said a little too loudly. Annabeth looked at the building and nodded. "Yeah… It's a huge building…" I laughed quietly again. She raised one of her eyebrows. "Percy, are you feeling well?" I shook my head. "No, actually. I think I'm still a little hungover." She nodded in understanding and continued walking. I tried not to sigh in relief. Thank gods Annabeth had a short attention span like me.

I looked over at the others. Rachel kept looking at all of us like we were crazy. Leo and Calypso were talking about something and it must've been funny because they both kept laughing. Beck and Silena looked like they were having a heartfelt conversation. Nico and Thalia were looking at something on his phone. Beck finished up a sentence and looked over at me. We had a silent conversation. 'You didn't tell them?!' I widened my eyes accusingly. He grinned apologetically and shook his head. 'No. I'm sorry.' I just shrugged and looked away.

We arrived at the pancake place, which was named Pancake Platter, a little later. "Okay, will you head this way please? Table for 9, right?" I nodded and led the group to where the waitress was taking me. The place was packed but there was still certain spots free. We got a spot in the corner of the back of the restaurant. It was a large booth. "Will this be a good spot for you guys?" The waitress asked. I nodded and took a seat. "Yes, thank you." I said. Annabeth got into the seat with me.

Soon enough, we had plates, or should I say platters, of pancakes and several drinks all over the place. I wasn't going to lie. The pancake were delicious. So was the blue orange juice they had given me. I had asked them if they could make my pancakes blue and they said that they couldn't so they made my drink blue instead. I took my phone and texted Beck, who didn't sit too far from me. The seating arrangements were simple. Annabeth sat on the edge, then it was me, then it was Nico, then it was Thalia, then Rachel, then Calypso, then Leo, then Silena, and then Beck sat on the other edge, completing the semi-circle that was our table. Beck phone dinged when it got my message. The others didn't notice the ding because they were having a conversation about Sloths. Why they were, I will never know.

"But they're so slow! A wolf would definitely win." Thalia exclaimed. "Yeah and sloths would never win a race in general!" Annabeth said. Thalia nodded her head and waved her hand towards Annabeth. "See! I'm not the _only _one who thinks that." She told Nico, who shook just his head. "Okay but think of the race like the Turtle and the Hare. And who won _that _race?" Calypso, Leo, and Rachel agreed with Nico. "He's got a point." Calypso pointed out. Annabeth and Thalia still disagreed. Annabeth sighed in frustration and turned to me. "Percy, who do you think would win a race, a sloth or a wolf?" I thought about it. "It depends." They all groaned, except for Beck, who was barely looking at the text I had sent him.

"That's not a clear answer. Just choose." Nico demanded. They all stared at me in a menacing way. Wow, who knew a small little argument could cause so much seriousness?

"Uh, I choose the Ssssss…" I pulled out the letter out and hesitated when Annabeth's eyes told me not to choose Sloth. I stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry guys but I have to agree with my girlfriend. I choose wolf." They groaned and Thalia cheered along with Annabeth. Whilst this whole thing was happening, Beck was replying to my text.

**Do you want me to tell them? **I had texted.

**No I'll tell them. You just distract Annabeth. **He texted back. I put my phone away and nodded at Beck. He nodded back and went back on his phone. The others looked like they were getting into another heated argument but I pulled Annabeth out of it. "Hey, babe." I said quietly. She turned to me. "Yeah?" She whispered. "I, uh, have to show you something." I pulled out my phone and searched for a funny video to show Annabeth. I played the one with Thalia and Nico having a tickle war. Just then, everyone's phone dinged, except Annabeth and I's. She was too focused on the video to hear. They pulled their phones. Nico and Leo already knew about my secret so they looked at the girls to see their reaction. All the girls looked up and stared at the two of us. I tried not to pay attention to the stares. The video had ended and Annabeth chuckled. "That was cute."

She must've felt someone staring at her so she looked back at the others. Everyone was staring at her. "What?" She asked. Everyone cleared their throat awkwardly and said, "Nothing." Thalia spoke up. "So, like we were saying. Who would win a race, a turtle or a sloth?" All the girls smiled widely to each other and then to me, like they were sharing a secret. I looked at Rachel for an answer. 'Its fine' she mouthed. I smiled at them and engaged into their conversation.

"Anyway, I think a sloth would win that one."

…

After we ate breakfast, we stood outside the restaurant, wondering where to go next. "Maybe we can go bowling?" Beck asked. Most of us considered this, except for Nico. "No! The last time we went bowling, you beat all of us by like 100." I remember. It was really embarrassing too. These girls were next to us and we were so nervous that we kept getting gutter balls. Beck, though, won by a landslide. He had _no one _to impress because he was still with Silena at the time, so he wasn't nervous _at all_. "Yeah, no bowling." Leo agreed after he remembered the memory.

"Okay, so where to then?" Beck asked. "How about laser tag?" Annabeth suggested. Everyone cheered in agreement. "Good idea, babe." I whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. "Laser tag, here we come!" Leo childishly yelled out before running down the sidewalk. "Leo that's the wrong way!" Calypso called out. Leo took a U-turn and ran back to us. On the way back to us, he started yelling, so when he passed us, his yell came and went. All of us started laughing and ran after the yelling Leo.

Since we were running and since the laser place wasn't too far, we got there in a short amount of time. Before we entered, Annabeth stopped me. "Wait, Percy. I need to talk to you. I know this might not be the perfect time but-"

"Hey, lovebirds. You coming?" Rachel interrupted. I turned to Annabeth. "We can talk if you want. We don't have to play." She shook her head. "I-I'll tell you later."

"Okay." I kissed her cheek and grabbed her hand, leading her inside. The place was basically like any other laser tag place. Cold and dark. Not many people were in here but the ones that were here were playing the video games the place had. I walked up to the front desk. "Hi, party of 9." I told the desk clerk. He nodded and typed something into the computer before printing out some paper. He slid them in front of us. "Choose your names please." He said. We all gathered around to read the small paper. Soon, we had chosen our names.

Me = Dark Waters

Annabeth = White Owl

**(A/N: The white owl is an urban legend about an owl that brings death.)**

Rachel = Van Gogh (Why that was even an option, I don't know)

Beck = The Hammer

Silena = Pink Mist

Thalia = Ozone

Nico = Grim Reaper

Calypso = Grass Hopper

Leo = Fire Ball

"Okay," The clerk took the paper back and typed in our names. He printed out some cards and handed them to us. "You're in luck today. You get a room to yourselves." I smiled and said, "Thank you." We all walked into our private room and got on our gear. There were two teams. Blue and Red. When the game was starting the countdown, our armor would light up whichever color and let us know what team we are on. I was on the blue team. And so was Annabeth. I grinned at her. "Nice." She adjusted her gear and said, "Your armor is crooked." She fixed it for me.

I looked around and saw that Rachel and Thalia were also on our team. "She seems nice." Annabeth said as she continued to fix my armor. "Who?"

"Rachel." I nodded. "Yeah." Annabeth tightened a strap and continued, "She's kind of cute." I raised an eyebrow. "I-I never thought about it." She kept quiet and finished up fixing my armor. "Hey, we're on the same team." Rachel stated happily as she and Thalia walked over to us. I nodded. "Yeah." I gave her a smile. "Okay, so what's the game plan?" Thalia rubbed her hands together and huddled us together. "Annabeth?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and told us the plan.

"We're all going to stay together. Maybe even camp somewhere. But there's an extra person on their team so we have to be more cautious. Extra person, extra careful. Got it?" She put her hand in the middle and the rest of us joined in. Usually you would yell out something at the count of three but since no one clarified what we were going to say, we ended up saying completely different things.

"Team!" Annabeth had said. "Let's do this!" Rachel had yelled. "Wolves over sloths!" Thalia and I yelled. We both don't even know how we said that at the same time. "'Wolves over sloths'? Really?" Annabeth asked while laughing. Rachel joined in with her. Thalia and I blushed.

"Everyone in positions!" A computer voice boomed throughout the large room. We all took our positions and got ready to run. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!" We ran for it. We ended up going to the second floor and camping in the corner. So far we were winning. We all only had three lives. Once they were all done, you would have to head out and wait till the end of the game. I know camping was obnoxious but that was a good idea. Annabeth was taking a look at the first floor from the small windowless hole in the ledge. She laid on the ground and had her laser gun ready to shoot anyone she saw, like a professional sniper. Rachel and I took care of the only way to get into the corner/our camping spot whilst Thalia took care of spying on the ramp that led up to the second floor.

"You know camping isn't allowed right?!" I heard Beck yell. "Come on babe! Camping isn't right and you know that!" Nico called out to Thalia. I saw hesitated and put her gun down for a second before aiming it back at the ramp. She was falling for it. "Thalia, don't listen to him." I whispered to her. "I-I'm not." She squeaked out. Suddenly, a warbling sound was heard and a curse was heard. I turned around for a split second. Annabeth was shot. "Thalia keep an eye on the stairs they're coming up." She said as she waited for her gun to come back on. Thalia was shot next. "Shit." She cursed and sat down. "Keep an eye on them." She demanded.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The whole red team appeared in front of us and scared us shitless. Rachel and I didn't hesitate to start shooting. Warbles and laser sounds were heard all over the place until the shooting stopped. I let out a deep breath as well did Rachel. The whole red team was out. I laughed. "Take that." Rachel taunted. Annabeth appeared between us. "Actually, that wasn't you." She pointed to both of our chests. We got shot. I looked at Annabeth's armor. It was shining bright blue. "You shot them?" She smiled and nodded. "So did Thalia." The red team look pissed as they waited for their armor to turn back on. Thalia and Annabeth got in front of us and aimed their guns at the gun less red team. "Go. We'll be behind you." Annabeth ordered. Rachel and I ran out of the sight of the red team. By the time we got downstairs, our armor had turned back on, meaning so did the red teams. I heard even more warbling and shouting. I tried running up there to help but Rachel held me back. "No, Perce. You only have one life left." She pleaded. I had gotten shot earlier by Nico who looked pretty smug about shooting me but then my armor came back on and I shot him. He wasn't so happy about that. I looked back up at the second floor.

Laser sounds came in an unfamiliar sequence and I heard Annabeth and Thalia shouting. I looked back at Rachel. "I'm sorry but she only has one life too." I didn't need to clarify who _she _was. I ran off, Rachel had tried to stop me again but when she realized that I wasn't going to stop, she followed me. Leo tried to shoot me but I shot him before he could. "Fire Ball, please report back to the lobby. It's game over for you." The computer voice said. He groaned and pushed pass us. "Thanks a lot, Perce." He grumbled to me. I continued looking for Annabeth. Along the way, we got out Calypso and Silena. They all groaned and moaned that it wasn't fair and left the game. Annabeth and Thalia met up with us. I hugged Annabeth. "You okay?" I asked. She cocked her fake gun and said, "Never better." And with that, we got into our positions to take out Nico and Beck, the last ones on the red team left.

_PEW!_

"Oh come on!" Yelled out Beck. Thalia had taken him out. Now, just Nico. Beck grumbled as he went pass us. I kept an eye on where Beck came from. A glimpse of olive skin came and went. It seemed to be going right. In the direction of Annabeth. It wasn't until I saw him pick his gun up and aim it when I realized who he was going to shoot. I gasped and dropped my gun. Jumping in front of Annabeth, I was shot. Annabeth took notice and shot in the direction of where the shot was shot.

"Damn it!" Nico cursed. The computer voice started saying who won and who got the winning shot. Annabeth crouched next to me. She let out a little laugh and rubbed my cheek. "Are you okay?" I groaned. "Remind me when I take another bullet for you, not to land on my back." She laughed and helped me. She hugged me. "We won."

When we got back into the lobby, the others didn't seem at all happy. "Yeah, yeah. We know. You won. We get it." Nico said as shoved his armor back onto the hook. It was already time for Annabeth to get to work. "It was nice meeting you all." Annabeth said to everyone. They all said their goodbyes and off we went.

I walked Annabeth to work. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and asked, "Hey, didn't you have something to tell me?" Annabeth paled. "Uh, uh, I-I don't-"

"Annabeth?" We turned around. A guy around Annabeth's age was standing behind us with a to-go cup in his hand. He looked strangely familiar. Annabeth paled even more, if that was even possible. "J-Jake. What are you doing here?" He raised his cup and pointed towards the restaurant he just came out of. "I was just eating breakfast." He looked at me and nodded towards me. "Isn't he that guy who fell yesterday?" Annabeth shook her head and told him to 'shut up' with her eyes (She thought I didn't notice). I got that feeling yet again. "Uh, Annabeth? What's he talking about?" She grinned nervously and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her hair. "Percy, t-the thing I've been meaning to tell you about…" I tried to connect the dots. I looked back and forth between them. That's when it clicked.

All the _real _memories came back to me. I _did _get drunk. I _did _get Chinese food for Annabeth. And I _did _go to her apartment. But the feeling that I had been getting throughout the day. The feeling of missing something, something huge. I had figured out what the _huge _thing I had been forgetting was. When I got to her apartment last night, I found out she wasn't alone. No, she was with this _Jake _guy.

"Motherfucker." I muttered when I figured it all out. I didn't even wait for her to explain, I just walked away. I hit Jake's shoulder with mine as I walked pass him. "Percy? Where are you going?" I kept my hands in pockets as I walked away. I felt a hand on my shoulder. It turned me around. "Percy, I'm sorry." She started off. I shook my head. My nose stung. No. I will not cry. I will not cry. "How could you do that to me? I thought you loved me! I thought you wanted to be with me-"

"Percy, you don't understand. I-I kissed him and he took off his shirt thinking that we were going to do more but I stopped. I thought it was wrong and that I shouldn't be doing that." I raised my chin up and looked at her unbelievingly. "Percy, please. You have to believe me!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I said calmly. "I tried to! I've been trying to _all day_!" We didn't say anything to each other. The guy was just standing there, behind Annabeth. Looking like he wanted to get out of the argument. I pointed at him angrily. "Who the hell is he?" She pursed her lips and proceeded to tell me who the guy was. "He's my best friend's boyfriend." I gaped at her. "You _kissed _your best friend's boyfriend?!" She nodded guiltily. "Yeah but he forced himself onto me Percy. You have to believe me when I say that! He _forced _himself!" I glared at Jake. "Why would he want to kiss you, Annabeth? Didn't you tell him you had a boyfriend?"

"Yes I did. But as I said before, he forced himself onto me!" Jake smirked at me. As if to say, 'Ha! I stole a kiss from your girlfriend!'. I flared my nostrils and backed up. "I-I need to get out of here." I really needed to clear my head. "Percy, please, no. Don't leave! I didn't mean it!" I shook my head. "Yeah, but you still cheated on me." I kept backing up as she tried to reach out to me. "Percy." Her voice cracked. I felt my eyes starting to water. "Don't." I told her as she tried to step towards me. "I'll see you later." I mumbled before turning around and walking off.

Annabeth's POV:

I felt tears starting to stream down my face. I turned to Jake, furiously. I hit his chest. He only flinched and let out a little laugh. "What?" Seriously?! He was laughing?! I shook my head and started walking away from him. He grabbed a hold on my wrist. "Wait, Annabeth." I tried to pull out of his grip. "Let go, Jake." He put his drink down on the concrete and grabbed the side of my waist, trying to pull me closer to him. I stepped on his foot and wrenched his hands off of me. I kicked over his drink.

He doubled over when I kicked him in the groin. "Don't think I'm not telling Julia, Jake."

"Do that and she will never forgive you." He strained out. It was true. How can I tell Julia that her boyfriend kissed me? She'll obviously wonder if I kissed him back and I don't think I can lie to another person right now. I tried to shake off the thought.

"Fuck off, Jake." I spat at him before heading off to work with my face tear stained and my heart broken.

Percy's POV:

I found myself walking to Nico's house. That's where they said they were going to after laser tag. I wasn't really paying attention to anything happening around me. A man wearing all black ran pass me and was followed by a bunch of cops. I still didn't seem to think any of it though. I was heartbroken. The girl that I loved so much cheated on me. I huffed to control my crying. I had put my hood on and kept my head down. This elderly couple passed me. "Percy?" I picked up my head. It was Hazel and Frank. I smiled at them but they just looked at me with concern.

"Hey, how's it going?" Hazel grinned sadly and said, "We're doing fine. How about you? You don't look to good." I wiped my eyes quickly. "Me? Oh I'm fine. Never better." They didn't buy it. "Percy, we may be old and not as smart as we used to be but we can still tell when someone is lying." Frank said in a gruff voice. I only frowned. "Does it have anything to do with Annabeth?" Hazel said in a mom voice. I nodded. "What happened?" I stuffed my hands into my jacket. "She-She cheated on me." Hazel pouted. "Aww I'm sorry. You guys looked so good together I thought you would've never broken up much less cheat." I bit my lip. "Actually, I haven't broken up with her. I just walked away. I didn't say anything besides 'I'll see you later'." Frank spoke up. "You still love her." He stated.

"I do." I stayed quiet after that. People walked around us as we stood in the middle of the sidewalk. I swallowed down a sob. "Well, I should get going. I got a lot of stuff to do and I'm pretty sure you guys do too." Hazel looked up at Frank. "Yeah, I have to get this goofball to his doctor's appointment." I smiled at the couple. "Good luck with that." I said. "I'll see you guys later. Maybe when I'm not sad." I let out a teary laugh. Hazel looked at me with sympathy. "Yeah, see you later. And I hope you fix things up with Annabeth. When you do, tell her I said hi." I grinned. "I will. Bye." I walked away from them and continued my journey to Nico's place.

…

"Percy! You're back already?" Nico said as he opened the door. I walked in like everything was normal. I pointed to his clothes as I passed him. "Yeah and you changed your clothes." It was random but I had to get him from asking anything about Annabeth. He was now wearing a black shirt that had black and grey stripes on the long sleeves. Along with his black skinny jeans and black vans. He looked down at his clothes. "Yup, I did." He closed the door. "Hey, we're all going to start a game of Truth or Dare in the living room. You wanna play?" He wiggled his eyebrows and pumped his pointed fingers at me back and forth. I laughed and hung up my jacket. "I don't know. Are we still in middle school?" Nico frowned. "No but it'll be fun. I promise you won't lose your pants like last time." I laughed again and agreed to play.

"Hey Percy." Everyone greeted as I walked into the living room. I gave them a simple wave. Nico took his place by Thalia and got an empty soda bottle. Handing it to Thalia, she told us the rules. "We're going to play this _my _way. If you don't answer the truth someone asks you or the dare someone dares you, you have to give up a piece of clothing." Leo wolf-whistled jokingly as the insecure ones by the name of Percy and Jackson blushed. I tilted my head and looked pointedly at Nico. 'I thought you said I wasn't going to lose my pants this time.' I mind spoke to him. He put his hands up in surrender. 'I didn't know' he mouthed. I shook my head and turned back to Thalia who was barely getting back to the original spot she was in after she put the bottle in the middle of the circle we were in. Here's the locations of everyone. I sat in between Rachel and Beck. On Beck's left was Silena. Next to her was Nico, then Thalia. Then it was Leo, then Calypso, then Rachel. Then me again.

"Okay, who goes first?" Thalia asked. "How about we let the bottle choose?" Beck suggested. Thalia nodded and crawl over to the bottle. She gave it a spin. And it landed on… Me. I let out a sigh of relief. I chose my victim. "Rachel. Truth or Dare?" She thought for a while. "How about dare?"

"Okay," I thought of a dare. I couldn't think of anything. All that came up was 'I dare you to take me back in time and stop Annabeth and Jake from kissing'. "Uh hello? Earth to Percy?" She waved her hands in front of my eyes. "S-Sorry. Uh, I dare you to… to chug a gallon of milk." Rachel shook her head. "Do you want me to throw up?" Rachel accused. I raised my eyebrows. "Do it or lose a piece of clothing." I reminded. She sighed and got up.

…

"Why are you recording me, Leo?" He laughed. "Because what you are doing is actually a challenge on YouTube so I'm going to upload it." Rachel groaned. "What is the challenge called?"

"Gallon of milk challenge. Now stop stalling and drink up." She put the top of gallon on her mouth. "Not a very creative title." She muttered before starting to chug it. Usually when someone chugs that much milk, they are expected to throw up but not Rachel. She drank the milk like her life depended on it. We all cheered her on as the last droplets of milk fell into her mouth. "How did you do that without throwing up? That's like scientifically impossible!" Leo yelled as he stopped recording. Rachel threw the empty gallon on the grass (We were doing this outside in case she threw up) and ran to the back of the house. We started hearing gagging and chunks falling onto the ground. All of us groaned.

"Okay, never mind!" Leo exclaimed.

…

We got back into the house and into our circle. "Okay, spin the bottle Rach." She spun it and it landed on… me. "What?" I said. "I'll just spin it again." Thalia shook her head. "No, no. Ask him the question." I protested. "But I already went." Thalia shrugged. "Too bad."

I sighed and turned to Rachel. "Fire away."

"Okay, truth or dare?" I didn't feel like getting payback from Rachel so I said, "Truth." She thought of a truth before saying, "What's the worst thing that happened to you?" I don't know what happened. I guess I just blurted it out. I didn't plan on telling the guys that way.

"Finding out that Annabeth cheated on me with her best friend's boyfriend an hour ago." My hands shot straight up to my mouth as everyone's jaw dropped. Everyone was too shocked to say anything. Leo broke the awkward silence. "Uh, uh. M-Maybe you girls should go. Percy has a lot to talk about." The girls didn't protest and left in silence. We all sat on the black leather couches Nico had. We each got our own couch. "S-So… She cheated, huh?" I nodded like I was in a trance. "I never liked her anyway." Leo sprawled himself all over the couch. I glared at him, "I haven't broken up with her yet." He sat up and cleared his throat. "O-Oh… You do know I was just kidding right?" I didn't say anything. "Right?" He tried again. "So let me get this straight, she cheated on you with her best friend's boyfriend?" Nico said and we all ignored Leo who looked like he really wanted to prove that he was just kidding about not liking Annabeth.

"Yeah…" I croaked out. "What are you going to do?" Beck said. I closed my eyes and leaned my head on the armrest of the couch. "I don't know… But I'm thinking of telling her my secret." Beck and the others paled. "Whoa, wait… She _cheated _on you but you want to tell her your secret? Cheating is a lot worse than lying Perce." Beck said. The others agreed. I sighed. "I don't know what to do guys. I just… I just don't know."

"Percy, if you love her, then at least hear her side of the story. After that, it's up to you."

…

_Knock-Knock_

I waited a couple second before she answered. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy from crying and she looked absolutely miserable. "Percy?" She squeaked. I didn't say anything and kept my hands stuffed in my pockets. She opened the door wider. "C-Come in." I walked inside the familiar apartment and stood behind her as she closed the door. "Let's go s-sit down." We both sat down on the couch. "Explain." I demanded. She stuttered out an answer. "O-Ok-kay." She was basically shaking at this point. "Uh, well, it was yesterday and h-he came over to my apartment. He said that Julia, his girlfriend-"

"And your best friend." I interrupted. She winced. "Yeah, anyway he came over because he and Julia got into this fight. We talked for a while and reminisced. All of a sudden, he kissed me." I clenched my fists. "And he forced himself onto me." She turned to me. "Percy, you have to believe me. I didn't mean anything. I may have kissed him but that's because he forced me too. Please Percy. Believe me." I could tell she was telling the truth. I don't know how but I could just tell by the desperation in her voice that she really didn't mean it. I opened up my arms and she shot straight into them.

She sobbed into my chest. "Oh gods. I'm so sorry Percy, I'm so so sorry." I shushed her and rubbed her back. "It's okay. I believe you. And I forgive you. And I love you Annabeth. I love you so much." She looked up and kissed me. I don't know what happened. Suddenly that kiss turned into a make out session and then into something that I never thought of doing with Annabeth. I had even forgotten to tell Annabeth my secret.

…

I opened my eyes and was hit the sun light in my eyes. I held out my arm to block the sun as I groaned. "Stupid sun." I grumbled. I turned away from it and snuggled into my bed. That was when I learned I wasn't alone. A flurry of blonde hair hit my face. "What?" I mumbled and I tried to get a good look of the person. It was Annabeth. What was she doing in my bed? I looked around. It wasn't my room, it was Annabeth's. Oh no. What happened last night. Annabeth turned to me in her sleep. It was at that moment when I realized that Annabeth's shoulders were bare. Unless she was wearing a shoulder less dress, which I doubt she was, then that could only mean only one thing. I slowly picked up the covers and looked under it. I closed them as soon as I opened them. "Oh shit." I cursed quietly. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck." I cursed over and over again. All that was going through my mind was,

I, 17 year old Percy Jackson, had sex with 22 year old Annabeth Chase.

Oh boy, am I in big trouble now…

**Yeah… They, um, did ****_it_****. Anyway, I apologize again for being very horrible with updates and stuff. Sorry, if there were a lot of mistakes in this chapter, I'm running out of battery on my laptop and I don't have enough time to proof read. In other news, I made a new story called She's Got A Boyfriend Anyway. I only have the introduction up but I'm almost done with chapter two. You should go check it out. It's going to be one my most mature stories ever. But anyway, here's the summary if you want to check it out:**

She's Got A Boyfriend Anyway: I would tell you that I have a great life with a hot girlfriend and a cool car and fantastic friends but I'd be lying. My life wasn't at all great. Hi, my name is Percy Jackson. I'm 17 years old and I am a fuck buddy with my friend of 17 years, Annabeth Chase.

**As you can tell, I am ****_extremely obsessed _****with Percabeth so that's what most of my stories are about. I am thinking of making a Solangelo fanfiction but now right now. And I also find it weird that I ship Thalico ****_and _****Solangelo but whatever. #LoveWins.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone. This is just a filler chapter but I still hope you enjoy it. It's Christmas time.**

**Stuck In My Head: Bloom by The Paper Kites**

**I'm doing something that I've never done before. Responding to a review.**

**To Elia19: I already have the whole story plot planned out and I have to say, you were very very close to it. ;) **

**Oh and thanks to everyone for the positive feedback. I don't say this much but I really appreciate it. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

**This chapter is dedicated to you guys. :)**

Chapter 11: Merry Christmas, Annabeth

Percy's POV:

Christmas Eve/One Week Later:

"You guys make me sick." Nico grumbled from the floor of my room. Annabeth snuggled into me and giggled softly. "Oh be quiet Nico. You're just grumpy because Thalia went to the Bahamas for Christmas." I said. He scratched his head and continued to eat the baked potato my mom had made him. Nico came over earlier this morning because to do. His dad, Hades, and his step mom, Persephone, went on to a ski resort for Christmas. Nico chose not to go and stayed back here. The guys had taken the news of my forgiveness to Annabeth very well. They just smiled and said, "Whatever makes you happy, man."

"Hey, Percy, you need to come check this out." Nico said from the ground. I patted Annabeth's thigh, silently telling her to move. Since she was sitting in between my legs, she scooted forward. I swung my leg over her head and got off my bed. I crouched next to Nico. "What is it?" He showed me something on his phone.

**_Battle Of The Bands:_**

**_January 1st, 2015_**

**_Sign up before December 31st for a spot in the competition_**

**_Starts at 6:00 to 8:00_**

**_May The Best Band Win_**

"Is that the one Mr. King was talking about a month ago?" I whispered. "No, Kelp Head, he talking about a different battle of the bands. Of course it's the one!" He said sarcastically. "Kelp head?" Annabeth questioned. Nico looked over my shoulder and to Annabeth. "Yeah, in kindergarten I gave him that nickname because he was so obsessed with the ocean and stuff like that. And he isn't exactly the smartest person in the world too." I slapped the back of his head as he laughed at me. "Ha ha." I mocked. Annabeth chuckled. "Kelp head." I got up and sat next to her on the bed. "Oh no, don't tell me you're going to call me that too." She shook her head. "Nope."

I sighed in relief. "Good."

"I'm going to call you Seaweed Brain instead." She laughed. I raised an eyebrow. "Seaweed brain?" She nodded with a huge smile. "Yup. I like that better than kelp head." She concluded. "Well, you're such a- such a- a… Wise… Girl!" I tried to say back but completely and utterly failed. She burst out laughing and soon Nico joined in with her. "Wise girl, huh?" He asked while laughing. "Shut up." I crossed my arms and pouted like 5 year old. "Aww…" Annabeth was still laughing a little as she ruffled my hair and threw her arms around me. That was when I got payback.

I hugged her back and held her tight while giving her a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She playfully groaned. "Percy!" I heard Nico laugh at us. I removed my lips from her cheek and looked over at Nico. "What are you laughing at?" I pretended to glare but I couldn't help the smile that was coming onto my face. He got a look of terror on his face. "N-Nothing." I let go of Annabeth and began to get up slowly.

"Oh really?" I wiggled my fingers as I held my hands out. He looked terrified at this point. "Y-Yeah. I'm sure." I shot straight forward and threw my arms around Nico. I gave him a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He immediately pushed me off of him and wiped his cheek so much it turned red. I landed on my butt in front of him and laughed at him with Annabeth. He glared at me.

"I hate you, Jackson." We just laughed at him.

…

"Why do we have to even go shopping?" I whined to my mom. "Because it's Christmas tomorrow, Percy." She simply said. I dragged behind her. Annabeth had to go into work and I thought that really sucked. Nico had to come with us because my mom insisted that he needed to come with us since he was family too. "So when do you think we could sign up?" Nico asked as he walked up next to me. I snuggled into my jacket as a cold breeze hit me. Nico shivered. "I don't know. Maybe after Christmas or something." He nodded and licked his lips. "Man, it's freezing out here." He commented. He wasn't lying.

Snow littered every corner of Manhattan and small flurries flew around the sky. And it was also windy so it just made it even worse. Snowflakes hit my face as we dodged the many people passing by. All of them held bags and boxes of presents. Someone prodded me with the pointy edge of a box as they passed by. "Why are there so many people out here anyway? Isn't it Christmas tomorrow? Shouldn't everyone be with their families or something?" I mumbled to Nico. He kept his slightly purple lips shut and nodded.

"Percy! Nico!" My mom called out to us as she was taken away by a large crowd. "Come on, we have to go get my mom." We both ran forward and tried not to slip on the slippery concrete. We caught up to her. "Yeah?" A white puff of air formed in front of us as we slightly breathed out of breath. She took out some money and handed us both a hundred dollar bill. "Here. Go get something for someone. You two look bored to death just following me around."

"Mom! Where did you get this money?!" I said in shock. She winked. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Ms. Jackson." Nico thanked. She waved her hand. "Don't mention it. Now go on you two. And just be back here in an hour. I'll be in the coffee shop, resting." I nodded and saluted to her. "Yes ma'am." And with that we ran off. "Be careful!" She yelled after us. "Don't worry! I always am!" I yelled out to her. "No you're not!" She yelled back. Nico and I laughed and kept running.

We arrived in the little plaza. I immediately knew where I was going. I walked into the store with Nico in pursuit. "Hi there. What could I get you today?" An employee asked me from the front counter. I looked at all the expensive sparkly chunks of metal through the glass. A special piece caught my eye. "Hi, um. How much is that one?" I pointed to it. The woman opened up the glass door and took it out. She held it up in the air and showed it to me while she looked up the price.

"One hundred and twenty dollars." I silently cursed. "Oh, um. Sorry. I don't have that much. I'll just go." I began to back up. "Wait, how much do you have?" She asked. I took out my money. "A hundred." She looked like she was debating with herself. "Who's it for?" She asked.

"My girlfriend." I simply said. She looked in between Nico and I before sighing and saying, "Okay. I'll take the hundred." I smiled widely. "Really?" I asked hopefully. She nodded. I didn't want to push my luck but I knew she would like the present better if I did this. "Hey, do you mind if you do me one more favor?"

…

Christmas:

"You guys look so cute together!" My mom cooed. I blushed. Nico was laughing at me as I slouched down to try and not look cute. "Don't try to fight your cuteness honey." Annabeth kissed my cheek. I suddenly got more confident. I stood up straighter and I felt like I was the best fake Santa Claus ever. I stroked my long fake white beard. "What do you think, Mrs. Claus? Do I look cute?" I tried, and failed, to speak in a Santa voice. Annabeth put her fake steel glasses on the tip of her nose and looked me up and down. "I'd say so myself, Mr. Claus." She said in a horrible British accent. "Why are you speaking in a British accent?" I said while laughing. She laughed with me.

"Okay, guys, Tyson's going to be here any minute so get into character." My mom said as she walked to the door. There's some things I need to clarify. Tyson hasn't been around much because he goes to Autism camp and Mrs. O'Leary goes with him because she is his guard dog. Every year when Tyson comes back for Christmas, I dress up as Santa Claus. Now that Annabeth is here, I can have a Mrs. Claus. Which will excite Tyson even more.

_Ding-Dong_

"Oh, that must be him." My mom didn't hesitate to open the door. "Tyson!"

"Mommy!" He flung himself onto my mom and Mrs. O'Leary ran inside. She came into the living room and immediately laid down on the couch. I held back a laugh. "Thanks Hestia." My mom thanked Tyson's caregiver and said bye before closing the door. "We have a bit of a surprise." She said to Tyson as she led him into the living room. He looked up at my mom. "What is it?" She stopped him and looked at us. "Look." Tyson looked at us. A toothy grin appeared on his face in the blink of the eye. "Santa!" He dropped his backpack, ran to me and clung to my torso. "Hey there little guy." I said in a deep voice. He pulled away from me and smiled at Annabeth. "And Mrs. Claus!" He jumped up onto her. She wasn't prepared for the hug bomb that is Tyson and stumbled backwards at bit.

"How's it going?" Tyson hopped off of her and waved at Nico. "Hi Nico. Merry Christmas everyone!" He shouted. We all laughed. "Merry Christmas!" We all shouted back.

Soon we all sat on the floor and surrounded the Christmas tree. Tyson was running all over the place as he opened his gifts. "Yes!" He cheered as he got a present he wanted. After he calmed down, he got up from the floor. "Where are you going, bud?" Nico asked. "I have to go get something from my backpack." He pointed to the bag my mom had just placed on the couch. He unzipped the bag and rummaged through it. He pulled out two bracelets made out of small seashells. He came back over to me and Annabeth. He crouched in front of us. "I know it's you guys." He whispered. I grinned at him and held up a finger to my lips in a shushing gesture.

"Nico still believes in Santa Claus so don't tell him." I saw Nico glaring at me in the corner of my eye. I suppressed a laugh. He told us to raise our hands. He slid the bracelets onto our wrists. "Here. The shells symbolize your love for each other. Shells tend to be washed off the shore, separated and carried off into the ocean but not you guys. You guys will always be together and not even a huge wave could separate you two." I was shocked. Tyson was a lot smarter and poetic than I thought. "One of my teachers at camp told me that." Okay, never mind. Annabeth gave me and him a watery smile. "Thank you so much Tyson. That's so sweet."

She got a closer look at the bracelet. The bracelets were the same. The shells were glued onto a black soft stretchy fabric. On one of the shells were the initials of Annabeth and I.

_PJ + AC = Forever_

It was written on the largest shell. Annabeth blushed when she saw the writing on her bracelet. I gave Tyson a hug. "Keep pretending that you believe in Santa, buddy. Mom doesn't like to see that we've grown up and don't believe in that stuff anymore." I whispered in his ear. He nodded. My mom stared at all of us adoringly. Tyson went to go sit back with my mom. I clapped my hands together. "Okay, shall we open _our_ presents?" I gestured between Nico, Annabeth, and I.

My mom nodded and got up. "Yeah and while you do that, Tyson and I are going to make cookies in the kitchen." Tyson got up and ran to the kitchen yelling, "Yay! Cookies!" Annabeth got up. "I have the present in my car. I'll be back." She went outside. Annabeth had gotten her car fixed over the weekend. I took advantage of the time and went to get the presents I had gotten for Annabeth and Nico.

When I came back down, Annabeth was back inside and standing beside and large wrapped triangular box. I had no idea what it was. She was smirking at me, like she knew how I was going to react to it. I got excited to figure out what it was. I handed Nico two little presents, which is all I got him. "Thanks man." He handed me a little box.

We all sat down on the couch. Annabeth and I sat on one couch and Nico sat in the other. He unwrapped his first. His face brightened up. "Wow, thanks dude." He smiled at me. I got him a black iPod Nano, which I had gotten weeks ago and was just sitting in my closet. What he didn't know is that I filled it up with a bunch of his favorite songs and singers. The other present I got him was some headphones to go along with it. "Okay, time for you to open your present." I handed Annabeth the long navy blue box.

She looked at me cautiously and with a small smile. She gasped. I had gotten her a gold chain necklace with a blue heart shaped locket. She opened it and revealed the picture we took on our first date, the one Hazel and Frank took. She put her hand over her mouth and I saw her eyes starting to glisten. I kissed her cheek and smiled sheepishly. "Do you like it?" She shook her head. "I don't like it. I _love _it."

"I love you." I whispered in her ear. She chortled and kissed me. Nico groaned and we pulled away. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "I've said it once and I'll say it again. _You guys make me sick._"

"Alright time to open _your _presents." Annabeth said, dismissing Nico. Nico and Annabeth smirked like they both had something planned. I raised an eyebrow and proceeded to open Nico's present first. It was a small wooden box with gold hinges. "Open it." Nico told me. I opened it and inside was a guitar pick. A black guitar pick with DG (Demigods) written in silver cursive letters. I grinned and took it out. "Thanks Nick." He smirked again and nodded. "That isn't for your acoustic guitar." Annabeth piped up. I put the guitar pick down into the box and closed it. "What is it for then? I don't have any more guitars." I wonder what she's getting at. "Open the present we got you."

I got up and frowned in confusion. "What do you mean 'we'?" I crouched down and started ripping the paper off the triangular box. "Well, the guys and I pitched in and got you something." Once I got the paper off, I opened the box and gasped in surprise. It was a guitar. I grabbed it from the neck and lifted it out of the box. It was an all black electric guitar and the neck just under the strings was a dark beige color. I twisted it around a couple times to get a good view of every bit of it. Something caught my eye on the front of the guitar. I looked closer. In silver writing was a signature from… I nearly had a heart attack.

"YOU GOT ME A GUITAR SIGNED BY PAUL MCCARTNEY?!" Annabeth and Nico laughed at me. I was dying on the inside. I was so happy, I hugged my guitar. "How did you get this?" I croaked out. "EBay." Nico answered. "And don't worry, that really is his signature. Not some random knockoff." I grinned at them two. It must've _really _expensive. I put my guitar on the couch and tackled Annabeth in a hug. We both fell onto the couch and started laughing. I showered her in kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She kept laughing as I pecked her whole face.

…

"Today was fun." Annabeth concluded as she snuggled up next to me on her couch. "Yeah, it was." I slung my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. Today _was _fun. My mom and Tyson stayed home and spent time together while Nico, Annabeth, and I went to go meet up with Beck, Silena, Leo, Calypso, and Rachel. We all went to the park and had a snowball fight. Girls vs. Boys. Girls won.

I leaned back on Annabeth's cushiony couch. "I really like your couch." I blurted out. She laughed softly. "It's not my couch to be honest." I laughed in confusion. "What?" She snuggled into me. "It's my mom's." I laughed for real this time. "You're so random." She repositioned herself so that she laid her head on my lap and the rest of her was on the rest of the couch. She shut her eyes and let out a little sigh of bliss. I played with her hair. "Better?" She nodded. "Much." We didn't say anything for a while. I closed my eyes, leaned my head back and played with Annabeth's curls. We just enjoyed each other's company and stayed in a companionable silence. After a couple minutes, Annabeth whispered to me, "It still bothers me." I opened up my eyes and glanced down at her. "What does?"

"The kiss from Jake." She grimaced at the sound of his name and all I did was clench my jaw. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. Right?" She slowly nodded. "Yeah but I still kissed him. You should've broken up with me and you didn't. Why?" She asked. I sucked in a quick breath. "Because I love you. And people make mistakes sometimes." She grinned sadly and a lone tear made its way down just under her temple. I wiped it away with thumb. "Where do you think we would be we hadn't met?" She questioned. "I don't want to think about that." I answered quietly. "Why?" She wondered out loud. "Because I don't want to think of a world without you." I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She couldn't help the goofy grin that came onto her face. She laughed. "You're such a Seaweed Brain." She concluded. I rubbed her cheek. "And you're my Wise Girl." She smiled. "You know that's not an insult. That's actually a complement."

"Well, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I _didn't _complement you, Wise Girl?" She just smiled larger and stayed quiet. As my hand rested on her stomach, she played with the bracelet Tyson had made me. Once in a while, her bracelet would clink against mine, making that the only noise in the whole apartment. Her necklace that I got her glistening in the light. I felt her motions slowing down and her breathing becoming small quick breaths. Before I knew it, she was asleep and softly snoring.

I rubbed her cheek and stared at her while she slept. As creepy as it sounded, it was actually soothing to watch someone you love so dearly sleep in a peaceful state. Soon enough, I fell asleep too. My last sleepy words being,

"Merry Christmas, Annabeth."

…

"Are you sure this is the place?" I asked Nico one more time. He shrugged and step on one of the stairs that led to it to get a better look at the address. It was written in small white letters under the times the place was open. "Yeah, this is it. 1934 Wallaby Road." He finalized. He tilted his head towards the place in a 'let's go' gesture. The guys and I walked in. Professional looking people stood around and talked about gods know what. The bell above the door dinged, letting the owners know that we were here.

Everyone's conversations stopped and head turned to us. Nico squirmed uncomfortably. "Um, w-we're here to sign up for the Battle Of The Bands…" Leo stated awkwardly. They didn't even listen to what we said before they went back to their conversations. "Okay?" Beck said. "Where do we go?" I heard Leo muttered as we walked around the studio. Some of the girls there were around my age. They kept looking at us like they hadn't eaten in _years _and we were a four course meal.

I was glad Annabeth wasn't here because if she saw how these girls were looking at me, she would go ballistic. "Hi there! Are you here for the B.O.T.B.?" A man appeared out of nowhere. He wore a grey suit with a yellow tie and black dress shoes. His blonde hair was slicked upwards into a thick mini golden pyramid. He looked familiar. "Apollo." Nico grumbled angrily. Apollo Brighton noticed him and fake smiled, showing off his ultra-white teeth. "Hi." He said to Nico while putting his hand into his dress pants pockets.

Beck looked between Nico and Apollo, who were glaring profusely at each other. "Do you two know each other?" He asked. "He's Thalia ex-boyfriend. The one who cheated on her." I whispered in his ear. Apollo turned away from Nico. "Anyway, you guys are here for Battle of the Bands, right?" Apollo asked. Beck stepped up. "Yeah, we are. Where do we sign up?" Apollo gestured for us to follow him.

We all followed him down a narrow grey walled hallway. He told us about the competition as we kept walking. "So, there will be competitors from all around the city performing in this competition. And the winner will receive 10,000 dollars." I was always shocked when I heard that. Wow… 10,000 dollars… that's a lot of money. "But then, of course, there will be a lot of others there that _could _beat you. But look at the bright side, _I _will be the host _and _one of the judges." Nico stopped walking. I stopped to check on him. Apollo, Beck, and Leo kept walking, Apollo's voice rang around the hall as he talked more of Battle of the Bands.

"Are you okay, Nick?" He glared at the retreating figure of Apollo. "_He's_ going be the host _and _judge?" He whispered angrily at me. I glanced at Apollo. "Look, Nico, he may have hurt Thalia and all but I need you to be on your reasonable side and not get angry with him while we're here. We can't lose any chances of winning."

"But that _doesn't make any sense_. He _hurt _Thalia. She's one of you best friends. And my girlfriend!" He said a little louder and a little angrier. I put my hands up in surrender. "Okay, Nico, okay. I get it. He cheated on her. And you can get revenge if you want. But _not. Now._" I crossed my arms and continued to follow the others, finishing the conversation. "-And you also need to write your own song." Apollo finished explaining as Nico and I walked into the office they had went into while we were talking. Apollo grinned at us. "Welcome back." He said. Nico ignored him and stood next to Leo, on the total opposite side of me. "Anyway," Apollo walked over to the desk and pulled out a clipboard.

He walked back and placed the board onto the table we all were standing in front of. "Just sign it and be there on Thursday with everything ready." I signed first then handed it off to Leo. "So, how many people will be there, exactly?" I asked. Apollo took the clipboard from Nico after they finished signing and said, "I don't know exactly but usual there's a lot of bands." He looked over the clipboard before putting back down on the table. "Okay. That should be it." He held his hand out for me to shake. I shook his hand and he went to shake the other's hands. I looked pointedly at Nico when Apollo went to shake his hand. Nico glanced at me and glared at Apollo but he shook his hand anyway.

Apollo clapped his hands together. "Okay, well, bye!" He waved at us and walked out of the office.

…

"Wait, so you signed up for Battle of the Bands?" Annabeth sat up excited on my bed. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah." I said sheepishly. Annabeth scoffed and hugged me. "Percy, that's great!" I chuckled and hugged her back. "Yeah. It's on New Year's too." She pulled away. "And I was wondering if you could go…"

She smiled widely and kissed me. After a while, we pulled away. I licked my lips. "So is that a yes or a no?" She laughed.

"Of course, I'll go, Seaweed Brain."

**Today's Annabeth's birthday! She's 22! That's hard to believe… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed because I really like writing this chapter. Next chapter will be round one of the battle of the bands so be prepared for that.**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone!**

**R&amp;R**

**Bye!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, quick update here. There are about 4 songs in this chapter and I'm sorry if it's boring. Two of the songs are by R5 and the other two are by 5SOS. Enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: Atlas Hands by Benjamin Francis Leftwich**

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**Guest (the one who said they died after reading chapter 11): *Revives you so you could read the rest of the story***

**Major Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters and I DO NOT own any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 12: Battle Of The Bands

Percy's POV:

Apollo lied.

There weren't _a_ _lot_ of bands like he said there'd be. There were only about 6 bands, _including _us. We all stood in line, which wasn't as long as I thought it would be, to sign into the competition. I kept staring at the stage and the crowd. There were a lot of people here. More than the people that went to our gigs. I saw some of our gig fans here and some kids from our school. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "That's a huge crowd…" I murmured to myself. Annabeth rubbed my back soothingly. "Don't worry. You got this. You've performed in front of people before." She comforted.

I sighed. "As much as I appreciate the motivation, babe, I've never performed in front of _this_ many people." I turned away from the crowd and to Annabeth. "I mean what if I mess up and completely embarrass myself in front of everyone." She rubbed my cheek. "You always say that and you never mess up. Plus you guys have been practicing all week. There's no way you'll mess up." I raised my guitar case and pointed to it.

"I just learned how to use this right and there's bound to be a mess up." She sighed and lowered down the case for me. She put her hands on my shoulders. "Percy. Listen to me when I tell you that you guys are going to do just fine. Actually, you guys are going to do _great_. I've heard you guys practicing and you all sound _amazing_." I grinned gratefully at her.

"Thanks." She smiled and gave me a quick kiss.

After we signed in, we headed backstage. There may not have been a lot of bands but boy did they all look a lot better than us. Annabeth squeezed my hand reassuringly when one band glared at us. We took our spot on the far end of the back. Nico, Leo, and I put down our guitar cases. Beck just sat down and twirled his drumsticks in his fingers. They already had a drum set for the drummers because they felt the need to be nice and not make any bands frustrated about hauling in the drum kit one by one.

Annabeth sat next to me. She whispered encouragements in my ear as I took my guitar out of its case. In the corner of my eye, I could notice someone was walking over to us but I was too busy with my guitar to see who it was. "Hi guys, nice to see you again." I saw Nico stiffen. "Hey, Mr. Brighton." Leo and Beck greeted. I finished up with my guitar and glanced up at Apollo. "Hey, Apollo. I thought you said there were going to be a lot of bands here." He looked around. "There are. Well, there's more this year than last year." He grinned at Annabeth. "And who might you be?"

"She's Percy's Girlfriend." Nico said defensively. Apollo sucked his teeth. "Okay… Well see you on the stage. Good luck." He saluted and walked away. "Nico." I scolded him. "I told you to hold back on him." Nico scoffed. "Dude, he was making a move on your girl. All I did was help you." I dismissed him and continued getting ready. "Percy, I'm going to go get some water. You want anything?" I shook my head. "No I'm good. Thanks for asking." She nodded and got up. "You guys want anything?"

"We're good." They all said. She nodded again and said, "Okay, I'll be back." She walked off.

…

"Uh, Perce? Where's Annabeth? She left about 10 minutes ago and the competition's about to start." Leo asked. I looked up from my guitar and glanced around. She wasn't anywhere in sight. I raised an eyebrow. "I… don't know." I decided to go look for her. Just as I turned the corner, I saw Annabeth. But she wasn't alone. "Uh, look I, um, have a boyfriend so can you, uh, get away from me." She stuttered out as a guy from the band that was glaring at us when we came in kept hitting on her.

"Come on. He doesn't have to know. You know what they say, 'What they don't know, won't hurt them'." She tried to pass by him with a water bottle in her hand but he didn't let her pass. He had her pushed up against the wall. "Hey!" I pushed the guy off her but only enough to make him stumbled away. "What the hell are you doing? She said to get away from her!" I pulled Annabeth towards me. He rubbed his jaw. "And who are you?"

"I'm her boyfriend." He chuckled lowly. "Not for long." He whispered to himself. I stepped forward. "What was that?" I asked angrily. Annabeth pulled on my arm. "Percy, he's not worth it. Let's just head back. The competition is about to start." She whispered in my ear. I backed away whilst giving him a glare. "Don't ever come near her again, you hear me?" I threatened. We walked back to our spot. "Hey, where were you two? Did you decided to take a detour or something?" Leo wiggled his eyebrows. I tried my best to stay in a good mood so it didn't ruin our performance. I smirked. "Maybe." I said. Leo wolf-whistled while Beck laughed. Nico was his phone, face-timing Thalia, who was still in the Bahamas.

I sat down in my original spot and Annabeth sat next to me. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?" She shook her head. "Gods no." I kissed her cheek. "Good."

The crowd cheered as Apollo stepped onto stage. His voice rang around the whole backstage. "Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming! Today, we have bands from all around the city performing against each other for 10,000 dollars!" The crowd cheered again. "Now, here's how this competition works. There are only two rounds since we don't have many bands but it is still plenty of fun to watch. The first round are covers. The band has to cover a song basically. Then second round, they have to perform a song they wrote on their own." Apollo went on about random stuff before he actually called on the first band. We were going on last.

Some of the bands were pretty good. Apollo announced the band before us. Unfortunately, that was the band with that guy who hit on Annabeth. "Here is… Supernatural Drift!"

What the hell is a 'supernatural drift'?

The band got up from their spot and ran onto stage, except for _that guy_. He turned to us before he left. "You know, originally I was going to dedicate this song to my, now, ex-girlfriend but since she's not with me anymore, I have to dedicate it to someone else."

"Trevor, come on man!" One of his band mates called him. He glanced at his friend before looking back at us, well back at Annabeth. He nodded towards her. "This is for you." He backed away and went onto stage before I could say anything. "Who was that?" Nico grumbled. "Some guy who keeps hitting on me." Annabeth answered. We all got up and went to see them perform. The crowd started yelling and girls started screaming as they started to play.

**(Let's Not Be Alone by R5)**

_Outside of the party where it's gettin too loud_

_It feels like we're the only ones alone in the crowd_

_Chat college and politics in time that we spend_

_You look back and you say you think you lost all your friends_

_And I'm hoping that it's all my fault_

_Yea, I'm hoping that it's all my fault_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

_No it don't, no it don't mean love_

_But it might, but it might be love_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have be alone)_

_Not wrong if you come on strong, cuz life is too short_

_I like how we get along like snow and New York_

Everyone cheered louder when he mentioned New York.

_All good if you change your mind, you know where I stand_

_Look back and I say to you I lost all my friends_

_And I know you know it's all your fault_

_Yeah, I know you know it's all your fault_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

_No it don't, no it don't mean love_

_But it might, but it might be love_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

The music got lower and softer for a second. Trevor turned to us and sang to Annabeth from where he stood.

_And I know it's gotta be my fault_

_Yea, I know it's gotta be my fault_

_La la la la la_

_La la la la la_

_Yeah_

_La la la la la_

_La la la la la_

_Yeah_

_(La la la la la_

_La la la la la)_

Trevor put his hand on his chest as he sang louder to Annabeth.

_And we might never feel the same_

_I'm just glad that you came_

_Am I right or is it all in my head?_

_Like_

He turned back to the audience.

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

_Hey, no it don't, no it don't mean love_

_But it might, but it might be love_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

_(You don't have to be alone)_

_Hey, you don't have to be alone tonight_

_Hey, you don't have to be alone tonight_

_Not it don't, no it don't mean love_

_But it might, but it might be love_

_Hey, let's not be alone tonight!_

The crowd clapped and applauded loudly. "Yeah!" Trevor yelled as they came backstage. He smirked at Annabeth in which I glared at him. Apollo introduced us as we gathered up our guitars. Annabeth whispered her last words of encouragement into my ear before we left. "And here are… The Demigods!"

We began to walk onto stage.

"Hey, guys!" Annabeth called over the crowd. We all looked at her. She smirked.

"Kick some ass for me."

I winked and walked up to the mic. I looked for my mom and the girls in the crowd. I found them in the back. Rachel, Calypso, and Silena stood on top of a picnic table and my mom stood next to them on the ground. I waved at them. They waved back at me. Everyone quieted down and waited for us to begin.

Beck and I started the song.

**(American Idiot covered by 5 Seconds Of Summer)**

(P) = Percy (B) = Beck (N) = Nico (L) = Leo (A) = All

_(N) Don't wanna be an American idiot_

Everyone went crazy when they recognized the song.

_Don't want a nation under the new mania_

_And can you hear the sound of hysteria?_

_The subliminal mind f- America_

_(P) Welcome to a new kind of tension_

_All across the alienation_

_Where everything isn't meant to be okay_

_Television dreams of tomorrow_

_We're not the ones who're meant to follow_

_For that's enough to argue_

People started dancing a bit.

_(N) Well, maybe I'm the f- America_

_I'm not a part of a redneck agenda_

_Now everybody do the propaganda_

_And sing along to the age of paranoia_

_(B) You lookin' at me?!_

_(L) Welcome to a new kind of tension_

_All across the alienation_

_Where everything isn't meant to be okay_

_Television dreams of tomorrow_

_We're not the ones who're meant to follow_

_For that's enough to argue_

We had a long instrumental break. We had mini solos. First it was Nico's solo. Then Becks.

_(B) Perce!_

Then me. I had practiced plenty of times and I was getting the hang of it. I was half way done with the solo when I realized I didn't have to worry about messing up. I had this in the bag. I gave Annabeth a big grin, silently telling her that I got the hang of it. She laughed in excitement and clapped her hands together. Leo joined me later on in the solo.

_(A) Don't want to be an American Idiot_

_One nation controlled by the media_

_Information age of hysteria_

_(L) It's calling out to idiot America_

_(N &amp; P) Welcome to the new kind of tension_

_All across the alienation_

_Where everything isn't meant to be okay_

_(B) I'm not f- okay!_

_(N &amp; P) Television dreams of tomorrow_

_We're not the ones who're meant to follow_

_For that's enough to argue_

_(N) C'mon_

We finished up the song and the crowd erupted in loud cheers, ten times louder than the ones for Supernatural Drift. I looked over at the judges. Two of the judges grinned and nodded at us before writing something down onto their clipboards. Apollo was clapping for us. I waved at him a little and walked off the stage with the rest of the guys. Good thing the other bands were good sports.

"Wow that was great!"

"Awesome!"

"You were fantastic!"

Annabeth ran up to me and gave me a big hug. "I'm so proud of you! You guys were amazing!" I hugged her back although I was sweaty.

We rested up for a while, waiting for the results on round two. Supernatural Drift was glaring at us while we waited but I didn't care. I was too happy. Annabeth hugged my arm and rested her head on my arm. Trevor played with his fingers and pursed his lips while looking over at us two. I tried my best to ignore him but that was hard to do when he was staring at me. "You watched it? Where?"

"Rachel was recording it on her phone and she sent it to me. You guys were really good." Nico smiled at his phone. He must've been face timing Thalia again. "I heard only two bands make it into round two." Leo's voice overlapped Nico's. "I think we'll get in." Beck said positively.

"And here we are with our results!" Apollo yelled over the loud audience. Everyone quieted down and we all, including the other bands, got up to see who made it in. Apollo was agonizingly slow when he open the golden envelope. He held the mic with one hand and the results with the other. He glanced at the envelope and then back to the waiting audience.

"After a unanimous vote, the first ones into the second and last round is… The Demigods!"

He called us over. We ran onto stage. "Woohoo!" We all yelled. Annabeth cheered louder than everyone else. My mom was now standing on top of the table with the other girls and they were clapping very loudly. We stood on one side of Apollo and settled down to hear the second band.

"And the second band to make it was… Supernatural Drift!" They all came onto stage and didn't cheer at all. They didn't even look happy. I guess they didn't want to come in second. Apollo clapped my back then Trevor's and said, "Congratulations you guys! You can head back now to get ready for your next performance." We went back. Supernatural Drift stayed quiet the whole time. I picked Annabeth up and twirled her around. After we had a little celebration, we waited yet again.

They gave us 10 minutes to prepare for the song. We went over the lyrics and who be singing what. Annabeth stayed close to me as we continued to prepare. Apollo came onto stage and began to introduce Supernatural Drift. They looked prepared for performing but the truth was, they weren't. They didn't practice throughout the whole 10 minutes. All they did was talk whilst we _actually _got ready. But who knows? Maybe they'll still do well.

Everyone got into their positions and the rest of us went to see them perform.

**(Heart Made Up On You by R5)**

_Got my heart made up on you_

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

_You said what you said_

_When words are knives it's hard not to forget_

_But something in my head wouldn't reset_

_Can't give up on us yet_

_No whoa (No whoa)_

_Your love was so real_

_It pulled me in just like a magnetic field_

_I'd let you go but something's taking the wheel_

_Yeah, it's taking the wheel_

_Oh oh_

_My mind says no you're no good for me_

_You're no good_

_But my heart's made up on you_

_My body can't take what you give to me_

_What you give_

_Got my heart made up on you_

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

_Got my heart made up on you_

_I should be making a break_

_Up all night thinking I'm planning my escape_

_But this insomnia ain't goin' away_

_And now I'm back at your place_

_Oh no_

_My mind says no you're no good for me_

_You're no good_

_But my heart's made up on you_

_My body can't take what you give to me_

_What you give_

_Got my heart made up on you_

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

_Got my heart made up on you._

Trevor took his mic off the stand and came close to where we were standing. Of course, he was singing to Annabeth.

_Look what you did_

_What you did_

_What you're doing to me_

_You got me searching for words like a silent movie_

_I can't breathe_

_I can't see_

_It's so out of control_

_But baby honestly my hands are up I'm letting go_

_(Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go)_

_Got my heart made up on you_

He went back.

_My mind says no you're no good for me_

_You're no good_

_But my heart's made up on you_

_My body can't take what you give to me_

_What you give_

_Got my heart made up on you_

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

_(My mind, says no)_

_Got my heart made up on you_

_Up on you_

_Up on you_

_(Yeah)_

There wasn't as much applause for them like the first time but it was still loud. They walked off stage without a word. Apollo clapped his hands as he jogged onto stage. "Alright! Give it up one more time for Supernatural Drift everybody!" He waited for the crowd to quiet down before he started to introduce us. Annabeth kissed my cheek. "You got this, okay?" She nudged her nose into my neck. I smiled and got ready to run on stage.

"The Demigods!" We ran onto stage and got ready. I'd say we got this in the bag but I don't want jinx us. I started off the song with my guitar.

**(She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds Of Summer)**

(P) = Percy (N) = Nico (L) = Leo (B) = Beck (A) = All

_(A) Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_(P) Simmer down, simmer down_

_They say we're too young now to amount_

_To anything else_

_But look around_

_We work too damn hard for this just to_

_Give it up now_

_If you don't swim, you'll drown_

_But don't move, honey_

_(A) You look so perfect standing there_

_In my American Apparel underwear_

_And I know now, that I'm so down_

_Your lipstick stain is a work of art_

_I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart_

_And I know now, that I'm so down (Hey!)_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_(L) Let's get out, let's get out_

_'__Cause this deadbeat town's only here to keep us down_

_While I was out, I found myself alone just thinking_

_(P &amp; L) If I showed up with a plane ticket_

_And a shiny diamond ring with your name on it_

_Would you wanna run away too?_

_'__Cause all I really want is you_

_(A) You look so perfect standing there_

_In my American Apparel underwear_

_And I know now, that I'm so down_

_I made a mixtape straight out of '94_

_I've got your ripped skinny jeans lying on the floor_

_And I know now, that I'm so down_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_(N) You look so perfect standing there_

_In my American Apparel underwear_

_And I know now, that I'm so down_

_(P) Your lipstick stain is a work of art_

_I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart_

_And I know now, that I'm so down (Hey!)_

_(A) Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_Hey, hey_

_You look so perfect standing there_

_In my American Apparel underwear_

_And I know now, that I'm so down (Hey)_

_Your lipstick stain is a work of art (Hey, hey)_

_I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart (Hey, hey)_

_And I know now, that I'm so down (Hey, hey)_

I breathed heavily as we finished the song. The crowd was going crazy with excitement and I'm pretty sure one of my eardrums burst. All in all, it was extremely loud.

…

"I'm so proud of you all. You guys were wonderful. I don't like that you said the word 'Damn' but-"

"Mom!" I complained. She chuckled and waved her hand. "Oh, I'm only kidding."

I dipped my French fry into my ketchup and popped it into my mouth. Everyone admired our 1st place trophy from afar. I can't say I'm not guilty about beating Supernatural Drift because I was. Although Trevor caused Annabeth and I problems, he was only human. Plus after the competition, he apologized for everything and congratulated us so I guess he wasn't _completely _a bad guy. Annabeth grabbed a French fry and chatted away with Rachel. They had become friends which is something I had found weird but I was glad I didn't have to worry about them clawing each other's eyes out at any moment.

After dinner, we all went to the fireworks show at the park for New Year's. I know they had it at midnight but they are replaying the show before the day ends for anyone who missed it.

I laid out a red flannel blanket that my mom had brought and laid it onto the grass. Annabeth and I laid down on top of it. She laid onto her side and rest her head on my bicep. I wrapped my left arm around her shoulders, which is the side she was laying down on, and she put her arm around my torso. I stared up at the sky, waiting for the fireworks to start.

"You know, you're basically rich…" Annabeth started off. "Yeah?" I glanced down at her. "And now people are going to think I'm a gold digger or something…" I laughed but then I realized she wasn't joking. I cleared my throat awkwardly to cover up the laugh. "Oh… um they aren't going to do that…" I kinda figured they probably would. "They know we love each other. No one's going to do that. And if they try to, I won't let them." I reassured.

She let out a little sigh and cuddled with me. The countdown for the fireworks started. Everything seemed to go mega slow. Annabeth looked up at me, her eyes shining in the moonlight. People in the background jumped for joy and counted down from 10. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" Ear-splitting whistles were heard as the firework flew into the sky, it detonated and brilliant colors expanded throughout the sky. Everyone yelled out "Happy New Year!" And laughed in excitement while they looked at the fireworks. I wasn't looking at the fireworks though. I was looking at something far much better than colorful sparks in the sky. Something so beautiful. Something so eye catching. Something… one of a kind. What was I looking at, you may ask? Well, if you must know.

I was looking at Annabeth.

**:/ Sorry if it sucks but I had to get this chapter out of the way before the ****_real _****drama starts. That's right… It's cliffhanging time.**

**Turns out there will be 21 chapters in this story so we're about 8 chapters left. *Frowns* I'm going to miss this story but you know what, I'll be making other stories that will be as equally great… I hope.**

**Anyway, bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed everything while it lasted. *Laughs evilly* Anyway, in other news. I think the rest of the story might be in Percy's POV but if you want Annabeth, then just tell me. Enjoy.**

**I want to give a shout out to these amazing people for always posting reviews: Percabeth151, Son Of Tyche (The first reviewer ever for Eighteen), Hispanic Thug, EpicNuby, and Son Of Jupiter 123**

**To Carboned: Thank you so much. I really appreciate what you wrote. It really made my day. **

**Stuck in my Head: It Takes a Lot to Know a Man by Damien Rice**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story**

Chapter 13: Close Call

My day started with a nosebleed.

I walked around the house with my head thrown back and a tissue stuffed up my left nostril. My neck started hurting at one point. Getting ready for school was a lot harder than I expected it to be. But I guess it made sense since the only thing I could see at the moment was the ceiling. I grabbed a sleeveless black shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans, and my dark blue converse. The hardest thing I had to do without looking was tying my shoes.

Eventually, I got it. I checked up on my nose bleed in the bathroom. It stopped. I threw the slightly bloody tissue into the trash bin in our bathroom and washed my face. I wiped my face with a towel and headed downstairs.

"Hey, mom." I said while sitting down at the dining table. She placed the blue pancakes onto the plate and placed it in front of me.

"Hello sweetie." She kissed my head.

"Anything happening today at school?" I picked up my silver fork and dug in.

"I have a project due today." I said with a mouth full of pancakes. She placed a cup of milk in front of me.

"Did you finish it?" I nodded and took a gulp of milk.

"With the help of Rachel. She was my project partner." I informed. She nodded and check the time on her wristwatch.

"That's good." She turned off the stove and walked pass me in the dining table to grab her purse from the couch.

"Have fun at school, Percy. Sorry, that I can't take you to school today. I have to go do a couple errands before I go to work so, I'll see you later. I love you!" She rushed out of the house without another word. I finished up my pancakes and placed the empty plate into the sink. My eyes flickered to the familiar picture on the refrigerator. I sucked in a quick breath.

It was the picture with my dad, my mom, and I.

I ignored it and went out of the kitchen. I picked up my backpack and got ready for a long walk.

In a weird way, I kinda enjoy walking alone. It may be sad and all but it's also refreshing. It gives you time to sort your thoughts and such. I always regretted when I saw that picture. It always brought back memories I never wanted to remember. Like the time we went camping and my dad, being the big hero he was, killed a snake that had gotten into our tent.

I still found it weird and saddening that _a fish _was the cause of his death. The worst part was that it wasn't an honorable death like I thought it would have been. No, he wasn't killed whilst single handedly fighting a pack of wolves. Or was he killed defending my mom and I against aliens wanting to take the world. Or was he killed in war against robots. No. He was killed while fishing. That's it.

I turned the corner of the street my school was on and gripped my bag straps harder.

"Hello." Leo saluted at me when I appeared in the school. I walked up to my friends and leaned against the lockers.

"Hey, everyone." I said. Our fans, which I still find weird saying, congratulated us throughout the day. Mr. King, the one who told us to try out for Battle of the Bands, looked smug. He crossed his arms and smirked.

"I told you, you would win." He had said.

"Hey, Perce." Rachel sat down in front of me in English. I nodded and twirled my pencil with my hands.

"Hey." Rachel took a couple pieces of paper out of her stuffed up binder and placed it on my desk.

"Here, I took the liberty of writing the last verse myself since we didn't get to finish it." She showed me the verse. It was really good. I widened my eyes in surprise.

"Wow Rachel. This is really good." I complemented. She blushed and smiled.

"Thanks." She said before someone rushed into the classroom.

"Rachel! There you are! You left your jacket at my house last night." The guy with a British accent handed her a blue paint splattered jacket. She snatched it away from him and blushed a bit. Leo wolf whistled.

"What were you guys doing at his house, huh?" He asked. I could recognize the guy. I think he was in my science class… Rachel made a noise of speechlessness.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Owen." She introduced.

He gave us a simple wave before saying, "As cool as this is meeting you guys, I have to get to class before the bell rings." He gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, love." He sprinted out of our English room. I crossed my arms over my chest and rested them on my desk.

"'Love'?" I asked amusingly to the blushing Rachel. We finished up the song and turned it into Ms. Edwins.

The rest of the day was uneventful. The annunciation of prom was the only thing everyone talked about.

"What are you going to wear?"

"When should we pick you up?"

"How much does a limo cost?"

And then the most dreading question: "Who are you going with?"

Obviously, no one. Rachel would be going with Owen. Leo with Calypso. Nico with Thalia. Beck with Silena. And me with no one.

"I just don't get what the big hype about 'prom' is about." I voiced my thoughts as we rummaged around my garage.

Leo tuned his guitar and said, "I don't know either but apparently it's going to cost a fortune." Beck agreed and silently tapped his fingers on his calculus book. Nico was quiet. Quieter than usual.

"What's wrong?" I nudged him with my elbow. He rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out a way to ask Thalia to prom." Leo piped up.

"I have an idea. Just do it the traditional way." Nico frowned.

"The traditional way?" He questioned.

"Just ask her!" He yelled at him. Nico glared at him.

"I can't do it the traditional way. It has to be special. It just has to." He directed his hands forward in a direct gesture. I thought of a way to help him. I recalled the time he helped me write the song for Annabeth.

"Sing to her." I said simply. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"_What?_" He squinted through his baggy eyes. I repeated my answer. He shook his head so much, I thought his head would fly off.

"No, no, no. I can't do that. I can't sing in front of her." He backed out of the plan. I gave him a look. He shrugged.

"Sorry but I can't." He pursed his lips.

"You can sing in front of _hundreds _of people but not your own girlfriend? Wow Nico. Just wow." Leo pointed out. Nico thought it over.

"But what should I sing?" He asked quietly. I pointed to his songbook that was laying off to the side. He picked it up and flipped through several pages.

"That song you sang for us was pretty good. Sing that to her." I advised. He flipped to the page with the song and smiled to himself.

"This is perfect." He stood up and quickly sang the lyrics to himself whilst running around the garage, picking up random instruments. Beck, Leo, and I watched in wonder as he jumped for joy every second or so.

"Gods, I've always wanted to know what goes through a Nico's mind." Leo wondered out loud.

"'A Nico's'?" I questioned. He just laughed.

…

"Come on, man! I need to get in there! My girlfriend told me to meet her here!" I pleaded with the big burly buff bouncer to let me into the club. He scoffed unbelievingly.

"Yeah, sure! Of course you have a 21 year old girlfriend!" He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I tried to push pass him one more time.

"She's 22 and she's real! Let me in!" The bouncer shoved me away from the entrance. I fell back onto the street with a big oomph.

"Hey, hey, hey, no!" Some other teenagers took my spot in the long line. I groaned and got up. I dusted off my pants and went down the block to wait another hour. I crossed my arms and pouted when I got to the end of the line.

"Jeez Seaweed Brain, who made you so mad?" Annabeth appeared in sight. I immediately brightened.

"Hey! I thought you were inside." I said. She shook her head.

"I'm friends with the bouncer that is _usually _here but he's not here today. I think we're going to be here for a while." Annabeth concluded as she looked down the long line of party crazy teenagers. I sighed and scratched my incoming five o' clock shadow.

"Do you have any other place in mind that we could go to?" I asked. She thought for a second before her eye's went wide. "Yeah… I have place in mind."

…

I coughed.

"Ack!" Dust clouded up in my lungs as I pushed opened the almost sealed shut dusty door. I waved my arms around to get rid of the floating particles of dirt.

"C-" I coughed. "Come on." I tried again.

I stepped inside with Annabeth behind me. Annabeth's face brightened up with excitement. She ran around like a kid in a candy store.

"Oh my gods! I thought this place was blown down or something." She jogged around pointing out certain spots.

"And that's where my friend Heather and I prank called her boyfriend!" She pointed to another spot.

"And that's where I had my first drink!" I laughed. She laughed too. I looked around the old abandoned warehouse. Graffiti littered the walls but none of them looked fresh. Annabeth dusted off a spot for the both of us and sat down. She patted the non-dusty spot next to her and I took my place next to her.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and crossed legs. She had her arms crossed over her knees. I mimicked her position. She glanced around the place and smiled to herself like she had many memories here.

"What is this place?" I finally asked, my voice echoing around the empty area.

"My friends and I used to always hang out here in middle school. We would skip school when we felt it was boring and come here to get away from everything." I gaped at her.

"Ms. Annabeth Chase, _the_ Wise Girl, skipped school when she was just a mere child." She laughed.

"Yeah, shocking right?" She said. I nodded. We got quiet and just glanced around the old building.

"So… What do you want to do?" Annabeth asked.

"I have a couple things in mind." I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. Annabeth laughed and playfully shoved me.

"Shut up Seaweed Brain." I laughed as I tipped over a bit.

"No but really, what should we do?" I asked. Annabeth got an idea and shot straight up.

"Wait, hold up." She walked around. She looked as if she was searching for something. I frowned.

"What are you looking for?" Annabeth stepped down a small flight of stairs and gasped. She dusted off something and struggle to get it open. I got up and helped her.

"What is this thing?" I strained out while trying to open the box. It made a creaking noise and opened up with a groan. Inside was slightly dirty water with beer bottles in it. Annabeth gasped with excitement.

"No way! It's still filled." She said to herself. She grabbed two bottles out of the water. She handed me one and shut the cooler. The bottle was warm. Not cold.

"Is this even sanitary?" I asked. She opened up the bottle and took a swig.

"Since when do you care about sanitation Seaweed Brain?" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. I shrugged and opened up the bottle. The beer was warm but not bad.

"How long as this been here?" I asked as we sat back down with our beers. She took another sip.

"Uh, I don't know. I think the last time we refilled it was in senior year which was 5 years ago. So yeah… 5 years." She evaluated. I raised my eyebrows and looked at the bottle of beer in my hand.

"Not bad for a 5 year old beer." I commented. Annabeth laughed and agreed.

We ended up finishing up our beers and talking about random stuff.

"I don't think that's possible, Percy." Annabeth said. I tried to convince her again.

"Yes it is. Breathing underwater is totally possible. You just have to be very special." I said. Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"'Special' meaning you have to be a hybrid mix of a sea monster and a fish." I awed.

"That'd be so cool!" She laughed at my childish self.

"You'd want to be weird like that?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"Sometimes it's okay to be weird." Oh great… Every time I get drunk I tend get sentimental. Annabeth grinned and nodded.

"I just wish my dad would've been able to see me win that trophy." I blurted out. Annabeth's eyes softened and she laid her head on my shoulder.

"I'm sure he _was _there. Just not physically." I didn't say anything for a while. After a moment, I did.

"I wish I was there to help him back up." Annabeth didn't comment anything. Not that she needed to. Just being there was comforting enough. "I wish I was there to keep that fish away from him. I wish I could go back in time and fix everything." I closed my eyes and got quieter. "I just wish it was me instead of him." I whispered. Annabeth kissed my shoulder.

"When my dad died, I didn't know what to think at first. Of course, I wished it was me instead of him like you but who doesn't think that? Hearing the news from my mom that he had died was more devastating than ever." Annabeth said. She sniffed and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"Before my dad died, he used to always tell me to be strong and keep my head high. Never give up on yourself. But when he died, all that washed down the drain for a period of time. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't even talk. Then, when we were moving all his stuff out of my parent's room, we found a box full of pictures. Pictures of forgotten memories. Each picture had at least a paragraph of writing in the back. Every single one." She paused and let a tear slide down her cheek.

"There was one picture. It was of me and him at the park when I was only about 2 years old.

"On the back read: 'If you're reading this, then you probably older, with a nice husband, or wife, I can't tell the future, with lots of kids and I have passed away. This is a picture of you, Annie. When we used to always hang out together, you know before you started growing up and not wanting to hang out with daddy anymore. I remember when you used to always lose your grip and fall off the monkey bars.'" She stopped for moment to laugh softly.

"'But you would never cry.'" She continued. "'You were always such a tough kid. Never let a single tear drop from your eye. Stay strong, I would always tell you. I love you Annie. Don't forget to stay strong. Love, Dad.'" Tears fell down her face but her face didn't hold any sadness. Just sorrow.

"I recognized that paragraph. Word from word. It was the only thing that helped me get back up on my feet. We found out those pictures were like a little timeline he'd been creating so when he died, we find them and have something to remember him by." She paused again. "I- I guess what I'm trying to say is that. Our dads wouldn't want us dwelling on their lives. They'd want us to stay strong and live life at the fullest." She concluded.

I wiped her tears with my thumb and pulled her close to me. I tried to brighten things up.

"How weird would it be if someone walked in and saw two drunk people on the floor, crying?"

Annabeth laughed.

…

We got more drunk than we intended to. Like I said, when I get drunk, I get sentimental. But when I get _too _drunk, I get… rude.

At one point, I insulted her for being a dumb blonde, when she clearly wasn't. Thankfully, she didn't hear me. But when I insulted her again, she heard me.

"What was that?" She scowled at me. I took a big swig of the old beer.

"What? You didn't hear me?" I rudely replied. Annabeth immediately became sober.

"Really? Are you being serious right now?" I shrugged.

"What?" I said laughing. She scowled harder.

"Say it again." She demanded.

"What?" I repeated.

"Say. It. Again." I did so.

"The only reason I stayed with you after you cheated on me was because I had a feeling you were good in bed." I glanced her up and down.

"And I was right." I concluded with a smirk. She scoffed.

"Please tell me you're kidding around." She said. I frowned.

"About you being good in bed? Definitely not. It's like your whole different person."

"Percy! Do you know what you are saying right now?" She tried to make me realize what I was saying. I was too drunk to do anything about it. So, my drunk self continued to be rude.

"Yeah, that's you're good at sex. Was I not clear enough?" She shot straight up and flared her nostrils.

"I can't believe you." She began to walk out of the warehouse.

"Was it something I said?" I asked stupidly. She swung back around to me.

"No, it's wasn't." She said sarcastically. She laughed humorlessly and put her palm on her forehead.

"You know what, Percy? If you ever see me in public again, don't even bother saying anything to me, got it?" She spat. I stumbled up.

"Now, wait a minute." I strained out as I unsteadily walked to her. My soberness was slowly regaining. She didn't wait. She continued to storm out.

"Annabeth, please wait." I tried again. I started getting groggy and my eye sight was starting to fade away.

I got to the entrance and put my hands on each side of the empty rusty opening. I breathed heavily and stared at her retreating figure, half eyed. A light blinded my right side.

"Annabeth…" I breathlessly called out.

It was too late.

A blood curdling scream was heard and I felt all the drops of alcohol going away. My energy regained and I was now fully sober.

The blinding light was in front of me, just a couple feet away. I squinted to get a better look.

It was a car.

A man got out of the stopped car and put his hands on his mouth. He looked around and spotted me.

"Call 911!" He yelled at me. It took me a while to react but I pulled out my phone and dialed the number.

"911, what's your emergency?" I said the first thing that came to mind. What I thought happened.

"Uh, I'm not sure what happened but I think someone got hit by a car." I walked over to the incident. The headlights still blinded me from seeing but I squinted to see better.

"Okay, do you know where you're at? And can you identify who the victim is?"

"Uh, hold on." I strained my eyes. Finally, I could see.

But then I wished I hadn't seen it.

"Sir, do you know?" I gasped.

"Sir?" Tears welled up in my eyes.

"It-It's Annabeth Chase." I dropped the phone and fell to my knees next to her.

She wasn't conscious. I really hoped she was just unconscious. I put her head in my lap and sobbed.

"Annabeth. Please, don't leave me." The man who hit her picked up the phone and started talking to the police. I heard him telling them where we were but I paid no attention to him. Her head was bleeding and that seemed to be the only injury. It still didn't matter though. She was hurt and that was what mattered. The man hung up and handed me back my phone.

"They said they're on their way." He said cautiously. That's when I blew up.

"This is all your fault! You hurt her! I hate you! You hurt my girlfriend! How dare you?!" I screamed at him. He flinched and backed away from me. I heard sirens in the distance but I somehow knew that she probably wouldn't make it by the time they got here. So I decided to try and stop the bleeding. I took off my shirt and put it on her wounded head. I moved the hair out of her face and cupped her cold cheek.

"Please, please, please! Don't leave me." I trembled. Slouching over, I placed my head on her unusually cold forehead. I sobbed and held onto her lifeless body. The sirens were getting closer and I held on for dear life.

I whispered, "Please." And "Don't leave me." To her and rocked her head back and forth. I still couldn't believe it. It all happened so fast.

First, we were having a heartfelt conversation then next we were arguing over something stupid I said.

"Sir, we need you to let her go." The pediatric told me as he tried to get to Annabeth.

"Never. I'll never let go." I whispered in a broken voice. Eventually, they forced me to let go. I watched from a distance as they worked on her bloody head. I was given a white shirt to put on.

When it came time to put her on a gurney and head to the hospital, I begged to go with them.

Now, here I was. Worried to death, gripping to Annabeth's cold hand like my life depended on it, which in a way, it did. Then, that's when it happened.

The sound no one wanted to hear.

The long elated beep.

Her heart had stopped.

Meaning… Her heart stopped beating.

I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. Doctors worked around to get her heart back up. CPR was performed.

I reacted. I tried to reach out to her.

"No. No. NO! Please! Come back! Don't leave! You promised you'd never leave!" I yelled out. A doctor had to hold me back so I wouldn't disturb the work they were putting into bringing her back to life. Once they figured CPR wasn't going to work, they brought out the defibrillator. They ripped open her shirt and placed the metal pads onto her.

"Clear!" The woman called out.

Nothing. I sobbed and put my head in my hands.

"Clear!" She did it again. Annabeth's body arched upward as volts of electricity went through her body.

Again, nothing. I prayed to every god out there as they did it again.

"Clear!"

Still nothing.

"I'm pulling the plug." A doctor said. I sobbed and pleaded with them.

"Please. You have to help her. I'm begging you. I need her." The woman with the defibrillator sighed and did the sign of the cross.

"Come on! He needs you! Clear!"

Annabeth's eyes shot straight open and a loud gasp was heard from her. I felt as if the world had been lifted off my shoulders. She fell back onto the gurney.

_Beep._

The monitor started beeping again. The man who was holding me back let go and crouched around to help the other doctors. Annabeth's left hand was out of the gurney.

I grabbed it and kissed it. I held it close to my mouth, kissing it every once in a while.

"I love you." I whispered, making sure she felt my lips moving against her hand.

Her eyes opened half way and I saw her smile through the oxygen mask.

'I love you too' she mouthed to me. I let out a quiet happy sob out and watched her drift back asleep.

…

"Oh my gods, Percy! We heard the news!" Thalia frantically said as she and the rest of my friends jogged inside. I stayed silent with my elbows on my knees and my hands connected and in front of my mouth. Rachel sat next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Is she okay?" I nodded and gave her a wet smile. Tears threatened to come out again. I forced them back down.

"How long has she been in there?" Nico asked, sitting down on the opposite side of me. It took me a while to answer.

"An hour or two." I shut my eyes and grimaced as the sound of her scream came through my mind. Everyone got grave looks on their face.

Nico's POV:

We waited for what seemed like forever.

Doctors rushed by with mountains of papers and manila folders stuffed in their arms. Nurses jogged from corner to corner, shouting out orders from the other side of the room. There weren't that many people here in the waiting room.

I guess it was because it 11:00 at night.

When we'd heard the news of Annabeth's accident on TV, we dropped everything and came to the hospital.

I was still shocked.

_Annabeth got hit by a car_.

Not really something easy to wrap your head around. We had tried to figure out what had happened but Percy wasn't talking.

I didn't blame him.

If Thalia would have gotten in a car accident, I don't think I'd be able to live with myself until I knew she was okay.

"I can't do this anymore Nico." Percy whispered to me. I sat forward and leaned closer to him.

"What do you mean?" I whispered back. He sighed and leaned back, rubbing his face.

"I had said it was that man's fault. The one who had hit Annabeth. But it wasn't his fault." He paused.

"It was _my _fault." I frowned.

"How is it your fault that Annabeth got hit by the car? I mean unless you pushed her in front of the car then it is definitely not your fault." Percy didn't hesitate on an explanation.

"We got drunk and got into a fight over something idiotic I had said. She stormed out of the abandoned warehouse we were hanging out in. That's when she got hit. If I hadn't said that stupid thing, she wouldn't have to fight for her life." He got this look on his face like he had just realized something.

"Actually," He looked at the ground. "If I hadn't lied about my age, she wouldn't have been hurt at all." He concluded.

"What are you getting at?" I wondered. He bit the inside of his bottom lip.

"All of this _is _my fault. She probably wouldn't have been hurt at all if I just had told her my real age. She would've died. And she almost did. And it's my fault."

"Perce, what are you saying? I don't know what you're trying to say."

"I need to tell her." He whispered almost inaudible. I leaned forward to hear him better.

"What was that?" He looked back up at me, suddenly more sure of himself.

"I need to tell Annabeth my real age."

**Yeah, sorry I had to go with the cliché car crash event. Anyway, I still hoped you liked it. This is chapter or maybe next chapter is the climax of the story and then everything starts to happen.**

***Smirks evilly***

**Please drink responsibly**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've had writer's block. Anyway, the next couple of chapters will be song filled so be prepared. And I sometimes put small sentences during the song and it makes it's hard to see if it is a part of the song or not so I'm going to put it in bold to help you out. Enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: She's Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story.**

Chapter 14: Stay

My world pretty much ended when Nico asked me an unexpected question.

"The band or Annabeth?" He had asked.

I stood still like a statue and I couldn't breathe. I never thought there'd ever have to be a time where I'd have to choose between them two.

Before I continue, I should probably tell you what had happened.

…

Four days and she still hadn't woken up.

At first, I couldn't get into the hospital since I was only 17 but Leo helped me out with that by getting me a fake ID. I didn't think it was going to work but it did.

I sometimes regretted visiting her. I couldn't stand to see the pain she was in. She had an everlasting wince stuck on her face and she would groan in her sleep.

It was Friday and I had just gotten off of school. I walked into the hospital with Annabeth and I's shell bracelets in hand. Some of the shells were cracked when she fell to the ground but they still stayed intact. I flashed the woman at the front desk my fake ID and went down the familiar trail to her room.

I heard talking in the inside.

"-Wake up?" A woman asked. I was more than positive it wasn't Annabeth but she sounded similar. I walked in slowly and saw a woman who looked like an older duplicate of Annabeth. She looked up intently at the doctor from the seat she sat in by Annabeth's bed.

"Should be soon. She took a really harsh hit to the head and it gave her a major concussion, not to mention the amount of blood she lost so it's gonna take her a while to wake up. And when she does, her head is going to be in a lot of pain." The woman nodded but then stopped when she noticed me by the doorframe. The doctor followed her eyes and saw me.

"Hey there, Jackson." Dr. Brunner greeted. I gave him a tired grin and glanced at Annabeth's doppelgänger. He looked in between us then at Annabeth.

"She still hasn't woken up." He informed. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

"Is she doing okay though?" I asked. He nodded and gestured to the manila folder in his hand.

"Well, I better get going. I need to update her medical papers." He saluted at both of us and left us alone. The woman pressed her lips into a line and clung to Annabeth's forearm.

I took a seat on the opposite side of her and held onto Annabeth's deathly pale hand.

"I'm guessing you're Percy?" The woman with Annabeth's grey eyes spoke up.

"Yeah… Who are you?" She chuckled and smiled.

"To every guy, we're usually know as their worst nightmare. In other words, I'm her mom." I laughed a little and held out my hand to shake.

"I'm Percy Jackson, _you're _worst nightmare." She smiled and shook my hand.

We talked about everything regarding Annabeth. When she was born and how it was a struggle for her mom to give birth. And how her first word was _architect_. And then how we met. I left out the part where I lied about being the same age as Annabeth.

"Hey, I haven't eaten lunch yet. You want something from the cafeteria?" She offered, getting up and beginning to walk out. I waved it off and shook my head.

"No its fine. I already ate." Her mom nodded and said bye before leaving. I wish she didn't leave.

She was the only thing that kept my mind off the fact that Annabeth was in a coma. Now that she was gone, the dread took over. And it hit me like a brick.

A tear made its way down my cheek when Annabeth groaned for the umpteenth. I hated seeing her in pain. It really made me feel like I was in pain with her.

_Music_, I thought. _Music will help_. I took my phone out of my pocket and put my headphones in.

I put my music on shuffle. Unfortunately, a sad song came on. It only made me feel ten times sadder. I kissed her cold hand and softly sang the words to her.

**(Fix You by Coldplay)**

"_When you try your best, but don't succeed. When you get what you want, but not what you need. When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse. And the tears come streaming down your face. When you lose something you can't replace._" I took a deep breath and struggled out the next words.

"_When you love someone, but it goes to waste. Could it be worse? Lights will guide you home. And ignite your bones. I will try to fix you._" I continued to sing to her. One line in the song stuck to me though.

"_I promise you I will learn from my mistakes._" I had barely gotten that out before I broke down. I ripped the headphones out of my ears and put my hand across my forehead. The music rang out of the headphones and softly played in the background. I leaned my head against the bed and controlled my sobbing. I ended up falling asleep.

…

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder.

I thought it was Annabeth's mom but instead I saw a familiar face.

"Dude! What are you doing?" Nico whisper-yelled at me. Annabeth's mom was back and eating a small box of fried rice with a fork. She didn't listen to our conversation and talked on a Bluetooth.

"Wha'?" I murmured sleepily. Nico glared at me and shook my shoulder harsher when I tried to go back to sleep.

"Percy! We need to go! The gig starts in an hour!" I groaned softly and rubbed my shoulder.

"Will you calm down?" He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room.

"I'll be back." I told Annabeth's mom before Nico hauled me out, shutting the door behind him.

"Seriously, Nico?! What is your problem?!" I whispered angrily at him. Nico put his hands in his pockets and kept his shoulders elevated as if he were stuck in a shrug.

"We told you to be at the hall two hours ago!" I frowned.

"What hall?" I asked dumbfounded. Nico threw his hands up in frustration.

"Well maybe if you were listening to us at lunch the other day instead of thinking about Annabeth, then you would know about the gig we have. I mean seriously Perce, I know she's hurt and all but you don't have to think about her every second of your life. Dude, she's just a girl." I pushed him against the wall. He looked scared for a second but then he looked angry. He tried to remove my hands from his shirt but I held on tighter.

"Don't you ever say that again." I spat. Never in all the years I had known Nico, had I ever laid my hands on him. Even when he had angered me, I never was physical. But this was different. This was _Annabeth _we were talking about. She was in a coma where she could possibly die and here he was telling me that I shouldn't be worrying about her as much as was.

"That _girl _is the woman I love and I will worry about her whenever I want to." I hissed. I let go of his shirt. He shoved my hands off of him and fixed his shirt.

"I'm sorry. I just really miss when you actually talked to us." He said through his gritted teeth. I realized what I had did. I rubbed my face and softly pulled my hair. I sighed,

"Oh gods. I'm sorry Nico. I've just been very frustrated lately-"

"Haven't we all? Perce, we've been practicing the song you wrote without you. You've been here," He gestured to Annabeth's hospital door. "The whole time while the guys and I are trying to go somewhere in life. We need you!"

"And so does Annabeth!" I argued. Nico grunted.

"I don't like this, Percy." He said quietly.

"Like what?" I asked exasperated.

"I don't like that she is taking you away from us. And she isn't even awake. You promised that she wouldn't come in between us." He paused before continuing.

"I didn't think I'd have to do this but you need to choose Percy." I frowned.

"Choose? Choose what?"

"Between the band and Annabeth." He said simply.

"You want me to choose between my best friends and my girlfriend? Do you realize what you are saying is really selfish?" He sighed through his nose and began to back up.

"I may be selfish but this is going to be a decision that will change your life so choose wisely." He turned around and walked away.

My heart stopped.

It took me a while to unfreeze. When I did, I opened the door to Annabeth's room and came face to face with Athena.

"Whoa." She whispered while flinching. I backed away and moved out of the way.

"Sorry." I gestured for her to go ahead. She waved bye and said that she had some business to attend to.

I left the door ajar and sat back down by Annabeth.

"Please help me." I whispered to her.

I couldn't choose. I wanted to be with her every step of the way. I wanted to be here when she woke up. But then I also wanted to be there for the guys. I mean I was the lead singer for the band.

I made the decision. And I didn't know if I was going to regret it or not.

…

Nico's POV:

The show was about to start.

We were going opening up for Drew Tanaka's birthday party. She said she would pay a lot of money for it. She also never specified on what tempo the song should be so we made a sad song, in honor of Annabeth and her incident. The guys and I practiced the song and who'd be singing what. Percy was singing most of the song since it was _his _girlfriend but I think that was going to change since he wasn't even here.

"Is he coming?" Leo asked hopefully when I walked backstage. I shrugged and grabbed my bass guitar.

Leo sighed sadly.

"You know you have to take over his part, right?" Beck said. I nodded and tuned my guitar.

"Now we just need someone who can play the piano." I said.

"I can." Percy popped in. Our faces brightened.

"Percy! You came!" I said. He didn't even smile. I could tell he wasn't on the greatest terms with me. I didn't mind. I knew he would get over it. As long as he came, that was all that mattered. He greeted Leo and Beck.

"And here to open up the party are… the Demigods!" Beck and Leo walked onto stage. I held Percy back.

"You know what to sing and what not to sing right?"

"I'm the one who wrote the song remember?" He walked pass me and onto stage. I didn't like looking in his eyes. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. And I had a feeling singing this song wouldn't help with that. No doubt he wasn't going to break down in the middle of the song. I sighed and put on my guitar.

Percy sat on the piano bench and cleared his throat. We got into our positions. The sadness came out when he sang the beginning and made the song twenty times sadder.

**(Stay by Mayday Parade)**

_(P) = Percy (P, N) = Percy &amp; Nico (N) = Nico (A) = All_

_(P) I need some time just deliver the things that I need for now_

_Everything that I feels like a warm deep calm casting over me_

_And it's taking me to somewhere new_

_If you believe that everything's alright_

_You won't be alone tonight_

_And I'd be blessed by the light of your company,_

_Slowly lifting me to somewhere new_

**Beck and I joined in.**

_Oh can you tell, I haven't slept very well_

_(P, N) Since the last time that we spoke,_

_(P) You said_

_"__Please understand if I see you again_

_(P, N) "Don't even say hello."_

_(P) Please_

**Some violins played on the speakers to go along with the song. Percy was about to break and I could tell.**

_(P) What a night it is, when you live like this_

_(P, N) And you're coming up beneath the clouds,_

_Don't let me down_

_(P) All the love's still there I just don't_

_(P, N) Know what to do with it now_

_(P) You know, I still can't believe we both did some things I don't_

_(P, N) Even wanna think about_

_(P) Just say you love me and I'll say, "I'm sorry, I don't want anybody else_

_To feel this way"_

_(P, N) No, no, no_

_(P) Oh can you tell, I haven't slept very well_

_(P, N) Since the last time that we spoke,_

_(P) I said_

_"__Please understand I've been drinking again,_

_(P, N) And all I do is hope"_

_(P) Please…_

_Stay!_

_(N) (Please!)_

_(P, N) Stay!_

**Percy's tears glistened on his cheeks as he sang with his eyes closed.**

_I'll admit I was wrong about everything_

_Cause I'm high and I don't wanna come down_

_(P) All the fun that we had on your mothers couch,_

_(P, N) I don't even wanna think about_

_(P) I'm not strong enough for the both of us_

_What was I supposed to do_

_(P, N) You know I love you_

_(A) Whoa-oh_

_(P) Please stay_

_(N) (Stay!)_

_(P, N) Stay!_

**Percy and Beck played together for a while.**

_(N) (Stay)_

The song ended with Beck drumming. Everyone in the crowd either looked sad or impressed.

"Thank you." Percy's voice cracked when he spoke into the mic. He wiped his face and stood up. He walked backstage as fast as he could. Some other music started playing and the somber looks left everyone's faces. We all followed Percy and found him putting on his jacket.

"Perce." I softly called. He wasn't showing his face. He never liked when people saw him cry.

"Yeah?" He croaked.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned. Percy kept his head down as he talked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just the song got to me and stuff. I'll see you guys later."

And with that, he walked away, back to the hospital, I'm assuming.

…

Percy's POV:

_You idiot! Why'd you cry in front of all those people?! Now they're going to think you're a big cry baby!_

I cursed at myself. I picked up my hood and kept my head down. I bit my lip to keep from crying any further but it didn't work. Thankfully, it had started to rain so no one could tell if I was crying or not.

I let my legs take me wherever they went. I just needed to get away and think.

I love Annabeth, I really do. It's just that someone once told me that you can't look a woman in the eye, say I love you and lie about who you are.

She needs to know the truth.

I made my way into the park. I glanced at the secret spot Annabeth and I had our first date and felt guilt overflow me.

I quickly looked away and sat on a bench, not caring if I soaked my pants. I watched as couples laughed and ran away together in the rain. As two teenagers danced in the rain, I felt obligated to punch myself. If I wanted a girlfriend, I should have found one that was my age and that would have made things a ton easier.

"Sickening, isn't it?" A girl asked from the other side of the bench. I jumped and she laughed.

"Whoa, there. Calm down. Just trying to strike up a conversation. You looked like you really needed someone to talk to." I shivered from the cold rain that soaked my clothes and took in her appearance.

Her blue hair was wet and her eyes were this emerald green. She smiled, showing off her perfect white teeth. She wore and black jacket over a white shirt that said, "Good Girls Are Bad Girls That Haven't Been Caught". She looked cold in her black skinny jeans and black converse.

"Sorry, I was just… caught off guard." I said slowly. She shrugged.

"I'm known for popping up out of nowhere." I snickered.

"Names Ashely Warner," She held out her hand.

"But most people call me Ash." She concluded. I shook her hand.

"Percy Jackson." She smirked and let go of my hand.

"You want to get out of here?" She asked when she saw people running home. Then she blushed.

"Oh I didn't mean it like that. I just meant get out of the rain. Not if you wanted to go out, I don't even really know you. Oh well, I'm pretty sure you're a nice guy but I don't know that. But then I still-"

"Ash." I called her to stop her rambling. She stopped and bit her lip.

"It's fine. I know what you meant." I said while laughing. It started raining harder.

Ash and I looked up at the sky and then back at each other.

"Yeah, we really should get out of here." I agreed.

We both ducked our heads and ran to the nearest place. The bell above the door rang throughout the whole small retro themed restaurant we ran into. A group of teenagers sat in one corner of the restaurant and an elderly couple sat in the other.

"There. Out of the rain." I sighed in content. Ash took off her wet jacket and slung it over her shoulder. We took our place in the back. Our wet sneakers squeaked against the black and white checkered floor. The table we sat at was oval shaped and the seats were a red leather with a white streak going down the middle. I bounced when I jumped onto it and scooted more inside. I leaned my forearms against the table. Ash put her hair up in a ponytail, showing off the small tattoo under her ear.

It was a tattoo of the omega sign. I pointed to it.

"What's it stand for?" I asked. She pointed to it and raised her eyebrows.

"This? It's just an omega sign." I twisted my lips and gave her a look of doubt.

She sighed and gave in.

"Okay, it means something." I smirked and nodded in victory. She snorted.

"Geez, if I knew you were this nosy, I wouldn't have talked to you in the first place." I put my hand on my chest in faux hurt. She laughed and waved it off in an _I'm just kidding _way.

"Alright, so, when I was 16, I ran away from home." She said slowly.

"And I stayed alone for weeks. I had little money and no friends. I ended up having to go back home. But not before getting this tattoo to remind me of the lonesome time I had when I ran away. I promised myself that I would leave that shithole once again but when I was prepared."

"Can I ask why you left?" She leaned her head against the palm of her hand and sighed.

"Because I was being abused. And me coming home after running away didn't help any of it. It actually got worse. I ran away a couple weeks ago and I even got myself an apartment and job." I smiled.

"And you're how old?"

"18." She said simply before grabbing the salt shaker and dumping some salt on her hand. She tossed it over her right shoulder and put the salt shaker back in its place.

"So what's your story?" She said while dusting off her hands to get rid of any salt. A waiter came over before I could ask what she meant. She and I ordered our drinks and then continued our conversation.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She crossed her arms and rested them on the table.

"I mean, since I told you my story, what's your deal? Why were you looking so sad at the park earlier?" She inquired. I scratched my chin and proceeded to tell her. It felt good to get everything off my chest. Even if I was telling it to a complete stranger.

"Wow, that's quite the story you got there, Jackson." She took a sip of the soda they had brought mid-conversation.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I messed up, huh, Warner?" I mimicked her actions of calling her by the last name.

"It's not that bad. You just fell in love with someone slightly older than you." The waiter came with the food we had ordered earlier.

"As long as you didn't have sex with her, then it's all fine." She said grabbed the fries from the waiter's tray.

My face flushed. The waiter looked uncomfortable for a moment before walking off.

Ash ate a fry.

"You didn't have sex with her, right?" She asked cautiously. I blushed and looked down at my food. She twirled her head around like she was trying to wrap her head around the situation. She slammed her hands on the table.

"Oh my god, Percy!" An elderly couple that sat by us shushed her.

"Oh shush yourselves!" She defended. The couple got up and went out of the restaurant, muttering about how outrageous this was.

"Now, you _really _messed up. How could you not know that having sex with someone over 18 while you're still a minor is illegal?!" She whisper-yelled.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"Dude, she could get arrested and thrown into jail for this, you know!" I swallowed down the fear I felt for Annabeth. I basically made Annabeth a sex offender. Ash was right. I really really fucked up.

"Ash, what do I do?" I asked desperately. She rubbed her face.

"Well, first, you're going to tell her the truth. Okay? And then you're going to break it off with her!"

I didn't know why I was taking advice from someone I had barely met but Ash was different. It felt as if I had known her all my life.

"As much as I appreciate that you had a plan, I can't do it. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it. Plus, I promised that I wouldn't leave her." _Like her ex_, I silently added.

That wasn't my story to tell.

"But will you at least tell her? She has the right to know."

"I'm already planning on telling her when she wakes." Ash sighed and popped another fry into her mouth.

"That's gotta be the worst thing to wake up to. 'Hey babe, so happy that you're awake but there's something I have to tell you. I'm 17!'." Ash joked. I didn't pay attention though. My phone had started ringing. I immediately answered.

"Nico?"

"Perce, the guys and I came over to the hospital after the show and we found out something."

"What is it? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, but she's awake, Perce." I didn't wait any longer. I hung up and beckoned over our waiter.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked.

"She's awake." I said simply.

"Can we have two to go boxes please?" The waiter nodded and went to go get them.

"Now's your chance! You can tell her!" I nodded and took the boxes from the waiter when he got over here. I hurriedly put my food inside of it. I handed Ash the other box.

"What's this for?" She lifted it up in questioning.

"You're coming with me."

"I am?" I nodded and shut the box.

"Yeah, whether you like it or not, you're now a part of this." She playfully groaned and began to put her food inside. I let out a quick laugh and slid out of the booth.

…

Ash and I rushed to the hospital. All my friends (Including the girls) gathered around outside Annabeth's room. Nico started walking towards me when he noticed I was here.

"Perce, hold-" I patted his shoulder and handed him my food box before walking pass him to her front door. Ash stayed calm and chill as all my friends looked at her weirdly. Ash followed behind me. I opened the door and expected to see my girlfriend sitting up and perfectly fine but no. That's not what I saw.

She was still asleep. I got spun around.

Nico put his hands on my shoulders.

"How could you lie to me?" I glared at him.

"Listen, calm down. She was awake when I called you but the doctor went in and we got kicked out. When he came back out, she was back to sleep." He explained. I got out of Nico's grip on my shoulders and walked to her sleeping body.

"Nico and Ash, can you guys come in?" My voice cracked. Nico looked at Ash cautiously as they both walked in.

"Close the door." I told Nico. Ash took a seat on the opposite side of me.

"So this is sleeping beauty, huh?" I chuckled and tried not to disturb Annabeth sleeping. Nico wasn't one for talking to strangers or around strangers so he kept quiet.

"Nico, this is Ash. Ash, this is Nico." I introduced. Ash waved and grinned. Nico nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, not to sound rude or anything but, why did you call us in here?" Nico asked.

"Because when she wakes up, I'm going to tell her." Nico's eyes widened and Ash stayed expressionless since she already knew this.

"Are you sure?" He questioned. I shook my head and put my clasped hands on top of my mouth.

"No. I'm not. But I have to and that's all that matters."

…

I was left alone after she started stirring.

I wasn't going to lie, I was terrified. I had no idea how she was going to react. I grabbed ahold of her hand as her eyes fluttered open.

"Percy?" She croaked. Despite what I had to do, I was ecstatic that she was awake. I laughed out of joy and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, it's me." I smiled widely.

"Go slow." I told her when she started getting up. She clutched my hand and struggled up. She winced as her head started hurting. I gently gave her a longing kiss. Her lips were dry but I still enjoyed it.

"I love you." I told her. I placed my forehead on hers.

"I'm so sorry. You know that I didn't mean any of what I said right?" Her smile faltered for just a second.

"Y-" She stopped and put her hand over her throat. I leaned back.

I grabbed the cup of water on her bedside. I held it up to her lips and slowly poured some into her mouth. Just like she did for me a couple weeks back. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the water cool down her dry throat.

"It wasn't your fault." was the first thing she said.

"Yes it was. I'm the one who insulted you and I'm the one who got you hurt." I argued.

"No no." She said softly, grabbing my hands.

"You can't blame yourself for this. I was the one who got you drunk in the first place." She said quietly.

"Yeah but I still caused you to get hurt."

"It's like you want me to hate you." She let go of my hands and gave up. I looked away from her.

"Better now than never." I whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear. She did.

"Why would I ever hate you? I love you." I grabbed her hand. Taking a deep breath, I began.

"You know, when we met, I had said I was… the same age as you, 22?" She nodded and raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, what are you getting at?" I was scared to death. But I manned up.

"I-I'm not." She frowned.

"I still don't get what you're trying to say, Perce." I choked out the words.

"Annabeth, I'm not 22… I'm 17."

**Haha. Cliffhanger.**

**Anyway, apologies again for the late chapter. A lot has been happening for the couple of weeks (besides the writers block). For one, my uncle passed away. And then I got into a (Verbal) fight with these guys because they were making fun of my gay best friend. And then school is about to start and I needed to get ready for that.**

**Oh and one thing. For an upcoming story, I'm going to ask the following question:**

**Reynabeth, Thaliabeth, or Pipabeth?**

**I wanted to ask because I can't choose between them.**

**Bye!**

**R&amp;R**


	15. Chapter 15

**Depression, friends, crushes, school, grades, parents, sleep deprivation, you know, ****_teenage life_****. Yeah, that's what I got caught up in. And I'm really, really sorry. If you're still there, and if you still stuck around to hear what happened after the big cliffhanger, well then, I hope you enjoy.**

**Stuck In My Head: Hollow by Tori Kelly (Ft. Big Sean)**

**Shout out to TheOneThatSitsAndLISTENS: You are an amazing person.**

**And another shout out to HispanicThug: I hope you're doing well in school!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the PJO characters or any of the songs used in the story**

Chapter 15: The Only Reason

_Previously on Eighteen:_

_Chp 1: "Um… I'm 22 as well."_

_Chp 4: "Percy, I love you."_

_Chp 6: "I love you and I should have told you that in the first place."_

_Chp 7: "His name was Luke… he cheated on me."_

_Chp 10: "I may have kissed him but that's because he forced me to… I forgive you… I, 17 year old Percy Jackson, had sex with 22 year old Annabeth Chase."_

_Chp 13: "The only reason I stayed with you after you cheated on me was because I had a feeling you were good in bed… Someone got hit by a car… It-it's Annabeth Chase… I can't do this anymore… I need to tell Annabeth my real age."_

_Chp 14: "Names Ashely Warner… How could you not know that having sex with someone over 18 while you're still a minor is illegal?!... Annabeth, I'm not 22… I'm 17."_

…

_I gave you the key when the door wasn't open_

_Just admit it_

_See I gave you faith turned your doubt in hoping_

_Can't deny it_

_Now I'm all alone and my joys turned to moping_

_Tell me here, where are you now that I need you?_

_Where are you now? (Where are you now?)_

_Where are you now that I need you?_

_Couldn't find you anywhere_

_When you broke down I didn't leave you_

_I was by your side, so where are you now that I need you…_

_Where are you now that I need you?_

The EDM blared through my headphones as the car swerved through the busy streets of Manhattan. Leo let out a string of curses in Spanish as a car cut us. My right hand gripped onto the roll-over handle, staring ahead, deadpan.

"_Where are you guys? The show starts in ten minutes!" _Nico's voice said through the car speakers (Leo had his phone connected to the AUX cord).

"We're almost there! Sleepy head here wasn't ready when I got to his house." He looked at me pointedly. I rolled my eyes and shut him and Nico out by putting my other headphone on.

…

"There's a lot of people here…" Nico listened to my comments about the large crowd of fans as he messed around with his guitar.

"What do you expect? Thalia sent out the word about our concert here to pretty much everyone in the whole school." I sighed and continued to scan the large crowd for _her _face.

"You find her yet?" Nico asked as if he read my mind. I chewed on my lip and shook my head.

"No… I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't here, she really made it clear she didn't want me-"

"Y'all ready?" The stagehand interrupted with his deep southern accent. I shut the curtain, walking over to another stagehand that held my guitar. Grabbing it, I slung it over my shoulder. I grabbed my microphone, placing it into the mic stand. The MC for the small bar started to announce our presence.

An uproar of cheers filled the small bar as the curtains opened, revealing our band of four. I cleared my throat into the mic yet it was only drowned out by the loud audience. After a while, the cheers started to die down, waiting for us to start our performance. My eyes glanced around the crowd, hoping to spot the only person I wished was here.

Then she caught my eye. In the back of the bar, barely walking in, the door made a large thwack as it shut. I gulped quietly as we met eyes.

Memories of what happened two days ago flooded my mind…

_"__Please tell me you're lying." She shut her eyes, probably hoping I was just joking around. I shook my head._

_"__N-No…"A frown made its way to her face. A small tear slipped out and ran down her cheek. She reopened her eyes, sadness and betrayal shown in her grey stormy hues._

_"__How could you lie to me? After all we've been through…" She gasped, as if she were suddenly remembering something._

_"__What?" I asked quietly. Her hand shot up to her mouth. Another gasp came out. She looked at me with slightly wide eyes. I repeated my question._

_She took moment to speak again. She looked like she was having an inner battle with her mind, as if she was trying to figure out how to react to this whole situation. She slowly looked at me, meeting eyes. Grey on green. We stared into each other's eyes for some time. In that moment, I thought that she was going to say, "Oh. Okay. That's okay. We can stay together." But no. That's not at all what I got._

_"__You… You need to leave." She finally decided. That was when my whole world seemed to end. My voice got caught in my throat._

_"__No." I croaked out desperately. "No, no, no, please, Annie. I love you. Please forgive me." Everything went wrong. One second, I was begging for her forgiveness and the next, I was outside the hospital, shoulders slumped and my heart broken into a million pieces…_

"…Perce." Nico whispered over the quieting down crowd. I tore my eyes away from hers, glancing over at the bass player.

"Y-Yeah?" Nico made a gestured to my mic, silently telling me to start the show. I nodded slowly, averting my eyes away. I tried not to meet eyes with her again but I failed.

"T-" I choked on my own spit. I cleared my throat.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. This is a new song. I hope you like it." I walked backwards towards Beck's drum set. I fidgeted with nervousness. Her grey eyes pierced into my soul, giving me weird feelings in my stomach.

A strange sense of déjà vu came to me. Back to when I had sang that song (Little Things) to Annabeth, when I was trying to prove to her that I loved her back. But this was more serious. Our relationship was at stake. Either this song would work or not. And I really hoped it would work like last time.

The song started, my eyes stayed on hers.

_(The Only Reason by 5 Seconds of Summer)  
N=Nico P=Percy B=Beck L=Leo A=All_

_(N) Don't talk, let me think it over_

_How we gonna fix this?_

_How we gonna undo all the pain?_

_Tell me, is it even worth it?_

_Looking for a straight line_

_Taking back the time we can't replace_

**I slung my hand onto my mic and poured my heart into my small verse, keeping my eyes on her.**

_(P) All the crossed wires_

_Just making us tired_

_Is it too late to bring us back to life?_

_(A) When I close my eyes and try to sleep_

_I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

_Even though my dizzy head is numb,_

_I swear my heart is never giving up_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

_(L) I feel you burning under my skin_

_I swear I see you shining_

_Brighter than the flame inside your eyes_

_(B) Bitter words spoken,_

_Everything broken_

_It's never too late to bring us back to life_

_(A) When I close my eyes and try to sleep_

_I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

_Even though my dizzy head is numb,_

_I swear my heart is never giving up_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

**I grabbed my mic off the stand, jumping off the stage. I sang my way over to Annabeth.**

_Oh, oh, oh, only reason, the only reason_

_Oh, oh, oh, only reason, the only reason_

**Approaching her, I reached out for her hand.**

_(P) Don't talk, let me think it over_

_How we gonna fix this?_

_How we gonna undo all the pain?..._

**She backed away from me, shook her head, and walked out the bar. I was so shocked, I missed my cue for the chorus.**

_(N, L, B) When I close my eyes and try to sleep_

_I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

_Even though my dizzy head is numb,_

_I swear my heart is never giving up_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

**I heaved a heavy sigh and ran back to the stage to finish up the song.**

_(A) When I close my eyes and try to sleep_

_I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe_

_You're the reason, the only reason_

_Even though my dizzy head is numb_

_I swear my heart is never giving up_

_You're the reason, the only reason…_

…

My knee bounced up and down nervously as I sat on Cajon backstage. I put my sweat soaked head in my hands.

_I screwed up. I screwed up my last chance with Annabeth…_

As I continued to sulk, footsteps echoed all around me. Someone was walking towards me. I didn't bother to look at who it was.

"Perce…" Nico spoke. I sighed quickly, lifted my head out of my hands and resting it on my clenched fists instead.

"Yeah?" I mumbled. He crouched down in front of me.

"How're you holding up?" I refused to meet eyes with him.

"I don't know…" Nico scratched his cheek.

"I'm sorry… About… You know." I sucked in a deep breath and leaned up straight, rubbing my sweaty palms on my thighs in the process.

"It's alright…" He nodded understandingly, standing up.

"Okay. C'mon. Let's get home." I shook my head.

"No, I'm not going." Nico frowned.

"What? Why not?"

"I'm going to try and talk to her. I just need to figure out what to say-"

"Oh c'mon, Perce." Nico said, sounding exasperated. I stared confusingly at him.

"What?" He took a deep breath.

"You need to let her go. She left you. Get that through your head-"

I stood up. "Excuse me?" I asked, slightly offended.

"I said, _she left you. Get that through your head. _You already tried to get her back, yet here you are. Still no Annabeth in sight. Face it, Perce. _She's never coming back. _Are you really going to pawn yourself over this girl who you'll never have a chance with again-"

"Oh shut up, Nico. Just shut the hell up. I know you never liked her from the start." I spat.

"_What?_"

"Stop lying, alright? You never wanted us together in the first place, remember? So why don't you just say what you've been waiting to say? Go on. Say it." I got extremely in his face, glaring into his eyes.

"_Say it._" I growled. His features slowly changed from confusion to remorse. As if he was barely remembering the time he told me to back out of the relationship and regretted that moment.

"Don't make me say it, Perce. You know I was only looking out for y-" I pushed him back.

"Say it. _Now._" I demanded as Nico stumbled backwards.

"No." His voice faltered. I pushed him again and again, repeating the same words. I didn't what was making me do this. I didn't know if it was all the sadness and angry that had been weighing on me for the past three days or if I was just losing my mind. But for some reason, I already knew I was gone.

"_Say it_."

_"__Just say it!"_

_"__I know you want to, just spit it out already!"_

_"__Do it!-"_

"I told you so!" He finally broke, tears welled up in his eyes as angry overcame him.

"I told you that you should've backed out, I told you to let her go, I told you that you were going to get hurt eventually, I warned you about _everything. _There. I said it. _Happy now_?!" I gripped onto the strap of my guitar and slung it over my shoulder.

_"__Ecstatic_." We went our separate ways. I never liked fighting with Nico. He already had enough problems to deal with…

Walking out of the bar, I saw the first yet last person I wanted to see.

"Annabeth?" I softly called out to her. She looked distressed as she turned around.

"What are you still doing here? The gig ended like fifteen minutes ago." She looked at me, eyes as cold as ice.

"My… My ride is running a little late…" I pursed my lips, deciding that it was now or never. _My last final chance._

"Listen, Annabeth, I'm sorry-"

"Don't. I don't want to hear it." I tried walking up to her but she only held her arm out in a 'stop' manner.

"I said don't, Percy." Of course, I obliged and stopped in my tracks.

She turned her back on me, her shoulders slowly moved up and down as she breathed, in and out… Me being resistant to getting the answer no, I didn't give up. I loved- _love _this girl. I just wasn't up and ready to give up everything we had together.

"A-Annabeth… If you just let me explain-"

"Jesus Christ, Perce! _Enough_." She said as she turned around to face me again, sounding as if she was exhausted of saying that word.

"I just want you back." I tried to reason with her, sounding broken hearted.

"Yeah, well, you lost that chance." She spat, her cold grey eyes glistened with tears. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

"I'm sorry-"

She uncrossed her arms quickly.

"I trusted you! I trusted you, with every single word I said, I meant it! All of it! And then you tell me something like _this_? Was our whole relationship a lie? Were you just- just _showing off _to your friends? Showing off that you could get an older woman? I can't believe you, Percy." She was letting it out, like she'd been waiting an eternity to say these words to me. The glare slowly melted off her face and was replaced by a somber expression. Tears shed.

"I mean, for fuck's sakes, Perce. _We had sex_." She whispered very lowly with her tear filled voice.

"You're a minor. I'm an adult. If people…" She realized her voice was starting to raise again. She paused and gave herself a moment to calm down. She shut her eyes, more tears shed. As a car came into view, just down the street, she inhaled a deep breath before continuing.

"If people found out, _I'd _be the one going to jail. Did you not for one second think about _any _of this? The danger you've put me in… If I can't go to jail, if I can't trust you… Then I can't be with you, Perce." The car pulled up and the window rolled down. A man with blonde hair and a toothpick stuck out from in between his brims appeared from the other side. He tilted his head down, his blue eyes peaked over his sunglasses. He eyed Annabeth.

"Annie." He acknowledged her with a nod. His eyes averted to me, a frown formed on his face before he returned his gaze back to Annabeth.

"You ready to go?" She was glaring at me the whole time, barely paying any attention to the man and the car.

"Yeah." She said emotionlessly. It was then when I realized the large rectangular luggage next to her. She grabbed ahold of the handle.

She opened the back door, threw her suitcase in, and shut it.

"Let's get out of here." She never took her eyes off of me as she got into the passenger seat. I finally mustered myself up, coming to yet another realization.

_She was leaving. _

Whether it was to a different state or maybe even _country_, I didn't know. But I sure as hell knew I didn't want her to leave.

"_Annabeth, please_."

"Goodbye, Percy." She said before the man in the car smirked and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.

"Annabeth!" I shouted after her. Dust clouds gathered, causing me to cough, as he sped down the street. Once the dust cleared, the car, nor Annabeth was in sight.

And that, was the last time I would see her for the next _six months_.

**Sorry if it seems short, it was all I could do at the moment.**

**Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed. Yes I know, yet ****_another _****cliffhanger, but this time, I will try harder, like ****_way harder_****, to update within the month. I just gathered up all my ideas and figured out that there are only about six chapters left in the story. I cri. It's coming to an end, guys. *sOBS***

**IMPORTANT NEWS, DO NOT SKIP:**

**I'm making a spin off series off of Eighteen. I still haven't figured out the title but it'll be about… *pauses for dramatic effect***

**Nico di Angelo! I feel like Nico's past and future just has to be made into his own story. He's one of my favorite characters in the series and an important character in this story as well. Anyway, it'll be about his past, present, and future. Just his life in general. And yes, there'll be a little bit of Percabeth but it'll all come from Nico's point of view. [Because it's about him, not Percy and Annabeth]**

**IN ADDITION: (SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION)**

**I've made a Twitter account *smiles innocently* I'll tweet out a bunch of things saying if a chapter will be late or delayed or if anything happens.**

**Follow me at A_MusicalAuthor… or don't. I'm not going to show up at your house and follow you around, pestering you to follow me on Twitter… Or will I? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK.**

**R&amp;R**


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